The world’s 82 million displaced people, the highest number ever recorded, require more than “aid as usual.” Their growing and increasingly complex needs mandate a transformation—a creative rethinking—in the global humanitarian response. The International Rescue Committee has taken on this challenge.

Violence is spreading across Burkina Faso as the influence of nonstate armed groups grows.

During conflict and crisis, education protects children and sets them up for a better future. It provides a sense of hope and enables them to recover, learn and thrive. However, over 127 million children in countries affected by war and displacement are out of school, while many others receive only a poor quality education. Despite this great need, education has received less than three percent of all humanitarian aid in recent years.

In areas affected by conflict or disaster, children are likely to miss out on learning opportunities. The IRC and LEGO Foundation are responding by providing learning through play activities to 800,000 young refugees and host community children in East Africa.