As the number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflicts and disasters around the world is said to be at a record high, Okai, who is the head of the crisis response department at the United Nations development agency, told NHK that the short term is no longer enough. He called for assistance to these countries, saying that medium- to long-term measures are necessary to accept them in the society of the evacuation destination, as they cannot respond with general humanitarian assistance.
According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of people displaced by conflicts and disasters around the world and displaced within Japan reached a record high of 59 million at the end of last year. It is estimated that more than 6 million people have increased since the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the World Bank, more than 200 million people could be displaced by 2050 due to drought and rising sea levels if climate change continues.
Regarding this situation, Asako Okai, Director-General of the Crisis Response Department of the UNDP = United Nations Development Program, responded to an NHK interview, saying, "The situation of internally displaced persons is getting worse, and the evacuation is becoming longer, and there is a short-term situation. Humanitarian assistance based on assumptions can no longer keep up," he said, showing a strong sense of crisis.
In addition, she called on countries to take medium- to long-term measures, such as providing job and education opportunities for people in evacuation areas and guaranteeing their participation in politics, to be accepted by society. .
Director Okai also said, "Japan is good at providing seamless support from the perspective of people in need, and is a country that understands the hardships of people evacuating within their own countries after the Great East Japan Earthquake and other disasters." I hoped to cooperate with the support.