Humanitarian aid has evolved rapidly during recent years, prompted by global changes in communication technology, urbanization and climate change, among a multitude of other challenging factors that influence how we respond to crisis situations. These modern humanitarian challenges call for new and improved agendas and actions.  

The World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), an initiative called for by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to improve humanitarian action, involves two years of consultations before culminating at the global summit in Istanbul in 2016. The WHS process is being managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  

This two-year consultation period will allow the international humanitarian community to share and analyse best practices and discuss what we must do to adapt in the 21st century to make humanitarian action more innovative and effective. 

Four central themes will direct the conversations during the two-year consultation phase: the effectiveness of humanitarian aid, serving the needs of people in conflict, reducing vulnerability and managing risk, and transformation through innovation.   

Give your input to identify and share solutions to the most pressing humanitarian challenges. Join in with the conversation here: World Humanitarian Online Consultations