Conflict and Fragility

In 2019, the number of violent conflicts around the world stood at a thirty-year high. Sixty-eight million people are displaced from their homes—more than at any other time in modern history. Crises are increasingly protracted and global humanitarian spending has nearly tripled over the past decade. Conflict is one of the greatest drivers of food insecurity. Meanwhile, extreme poverty is only rising in fragile contexts and many experts worry that the world’s poorest will become stuck in “fragility traps.” It is projected that by 2030, two-thirds of people in extreme poverty will live in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

Strengthening resilience can be a powerful answer to these trends. There is an urgent need to understand what makes households and communities more resilient to shocks in these complex conflict settings. Instead of returning to the same places with humanitarian assistance year after year, resilience strengthening efforts can harness sources of resilience so that people can manage shocks and stresses in a way that strengthens well-being over time.