Over the course of a year, World Vision provides food, water, shelter and access to health care in refugee communities. We also work to build resilience, strength and perspective in families who’ve lost everything. Yet our capacity to provide the bare necessities is stretched to the limit.

The number of people displaced worldwide continues to soar. There are now more than 82 million people who have been forcibly displaced – the highest figure since World War II. And most of them are refugees – those who have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety and opportunity elsewhere.

Conflict and war are the most common causes of displacement. But human-made calamities, such as severe socio-economic deprivation and climate change, can also drive large groups of people to seek international protection.

And once they do, refugees face intractable problems ranging from limited access to education, health and employment opportunities to discrimination, poverty and exploitation. It’s clear that we need to do more to tackle the refugee crisis.

We must urgently pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria and support host countries that are under pressure from encroachment by refugee populations. And we must ensure that refugee camps are designed as settlements – not just emergency response sites – and invest in community development to create an environment where people can find dignity, hope and success. This includes empowering refugees with skills, entrepreneurship and the opportunity to contribute to their local economies.