The erosion of guardrails meant to address these underlying issues means that humanitarian crises are spiraling. The IRC will respond by running critical programs for people caught up in crisis around the world and targeting the most vulnerable. We are also committed to using our voice to advocate for interventions that will help people survive, recover and gain control of their lives. In the context of the Watchlist, that means advocating for changes to strengthen the guardrails against crisis.

Aid as usual will not meet the moment. The nearly 340 million people who require aid in 2023 need more humanitarian funding for greater and better programs, but they also need and deserve more and different. While the challenges are big, solutions exist.

The international community should start to rebuild the guardrails against crisis in 2023 by setting ambitious goals to: break the cycle of crisis, protect civilians in conflict and manage shared global risks.

Available documents & links