RISING GLOBAL humanitarian problems are “stretching resources that are already stretched,” said a senior UN policy chief at the annual conference of the British-based coalition of NGOs, Aid & Trade, held in Washington in early July.

“Population growth, urbanization and migration will create new human caseloads,” said Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, chief of the policy and development branch of the UN Office of the Commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs.

“Civilians continue to be displaced and need aid,” he said in his keynote address.

And the blue UN flag does not provide protection in the field any longer — the number of aid workers killed or captured has increased to around 350 per cent in the past few years, he added.

The UN policy chief said that by 2025, the world population will rise from 6.7 billion to 8 billion; and the percentage of people living in cities will rise from 45 per cent to 59 per cent, thereby creating nine new megacities where providing water, sewage, food, jobs, power, education, health care and security will be a challenge.

He also said that the number of natural disasters has doubled to 400 per year in the past 20 years, due in part to migration to risky coastal areas, as well as possible climate change.

“A dramatic change of rainfall in Africa will leave 250 million people in stress by 2020,” he said, noting rising extreme poverty with no way out.

The global humanitarian scene is also affected by the downturn in the global economy, with the International Labour Organisation reporting 51 million jobs lost in the official economy, and many more lost in the informal economy.

Speaking at a separate panel, Strohmeyer said that last year’s world food crisis “is not over,” and food prices will remain “way above” those of 2005 and before. By 2050, demand for food will double, and “one third of the world’s population by then will be food insecure.”

The 2009 International Aid & Trade conference was held in conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebration of InterAction, a coalition of more than 180 US-based NGOs.

Aid & Trade focused its meeting on procurement and logistics, with displays by manufacturers of emergency shelter, rough-terrain vehicles, portable power systems, communications and other tools for operating in humanitarian crises. ?