Hello.

My name's Ms. Ikomi and I'm a teacher from London.

I'm gonna be taking you through today's lesson, so let's get started.

Today's lesson is called, "What are global humanitarian problems?" It's part of the wider unit "How does the international community respond to global humanitarian problems?" By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain what a global humanitarian problem is and the range of responses from countries and international organisations.

As today's topics could be seen as sensitive, we're going to discuss some ground rules for taking part in this lesson.

First of all, it's important to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, it's important that we challenge the statement, not the person.

We must respect privacy.

We can discuss examples in a general sense, but please do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including yourself.

We listen without passing judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And last, you can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in with a discussion.

We'll never put anyone on the spot.

Let's get started.

The keywords we're going to hear in today's lesson are humanitarian problem.

This is a situation or event, often large-scale, that poses a serious and immediate threat to the health, safety, or wellbeing of a community or group of people.

The next is refugee.

This is a person who has been forced to leave their home due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted.

A natural disaster.

This is a harmful event caused by natural forces, like a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, or drought.

This can damage communities and the environment.

We're gonna start by thinking about, what are humanitarian problems? Sam is asking, "What do we mean when we use this phrase, humanitarian problems?" It's a really good question because obviously all humans have problems, but this is related to a specific group that is having a large-scale impact.

So humanitarian problems are serious situations, often in that larger scale as opposed to small scale, and they put people's lives, their health, or their wellbeing at risk on that big scale.

They can be short-term, so things that happen on a one-off like a flood or an earthquake, or it could be long-term, a war that is going on for a long time, food shortages as a result of not having a good crop yield that year or because of war, or forced displacement maybe because of something like the environment.

These humanitarian problems occur for lots of different reasons.

Some of them are created by people.

For example, war can force people to flee their homes.

If they are forced to leave because they are scared that they're going to be caught up or hurt within this war, then they might become a refugee in another country.

Other problems are caused by natural events, not necessarily directly by humans.

Things like forest fires or volcanic eruptions or floods.

These events can have a huge and devastating impact on people's lives.

However, it is really important to remember that lots of natural disasters are actually linked to human activity, so there is a link between these two things.

For example, climate change is making events like floods, droughts or wildfires more frequent and more severe as a result of that increase of global temperature.

Let's do a check of what we've learned so far.

Which of the following is a humanitarian problem? Is it A, flooding in a village, meaning a family has to use sandbags to stay dry? B, flooding in a village leads to a bridge being washed away.

Or C, flooding has caused an entire town to be displaced; the water has not subsided, leading to disease.

Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is C.

War is one another example of a humanitarian problem.

Because of the impact of war, we have serious harm and loss of life to communities.

This happens to both soldiers and civilians that are living within war zones.

Homes, hospitals, schools, and other really important infrastructure can be destroyed.

Infrastructure being those important agencies that hold together a society.

War can often force people to have to leave their home.

That might be to physically escape danger.

Some would move to safer areas within their own country, so that is called internally displaced, where you are internally moved around, while others might have to cross borders to get away from that country.

In that case, they might become refugees.

Let's do another check.

Which of these is a humanitarian problem caused by war? Is it A, displaced people will leave the country to find safety; B, the country will spend lots of money on weapons; or C, the country may suspend elections, meaning citizens can't vote.

Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is A.

Natural disasters are a major cause of humanitarian problems. We've seen the examples so far come up of volcanoes, flooding, droughts.

Some people are more likely to live in areas that have a high risk of disasters, things like earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions.

In some cases, people choose to live there because of the work they do, their family are there, the lifestyle might be appealing.

In other cases, people don't have very many other options.

They might rely on the land for farming or have limited resources and money to be able to move elsewhere.

In lots of cases, people have been able to adapt to these risks.

For example, in earthquake-prone areas, buildings can be designed to sway rather than collapse during an earthquake.

Natural disasters can also create humanitarian problems because of that impact, so it becomes an ongoing cycle.

For example, in California, wildfires in 2025 saw 180,000 people evacuated and 17,000 structures were damaged or destroyed.

In Somalia, ongoing droughts have led to severe food shortages and hunger.

This has affected 4.

4 million people.

In 2010, an earthquake in Haiti killed over 220,000 people and destroyed much of the country's limited infrastructure.

The disaster left many without shelter, clean water or healthcare.

So we see how the humanitarian problems have been created as an impact of these natural disasters.

True or false? Natural disasters are always a humanitarian problem.

Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is false.

This is because they can create significant problems, but humans have learned to adapt to them.

For example, living in areas prone to natural disasters means that people will adapt the lifestyle.

Flood defences have been built and earthquake-resistant buildings have been designed, which show demonstrating of this.

Refugee crises are also a humanitarian problem.

Sometimes wider global events such as a war can create a refugee crisis.

This is because we have lots of people that are needing to escape for their own safety.

For example, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, millions of people fled the country to escape conflict.

As of 2025, around 6.

9 million Ukrainian refugees are living in other countries, meaning that we have this crisis whereby people have moved.

Natural disasters and climate change can also force people to leave their homes.

These events can lead to this idea of displacement.

If you displace something, you move it from where it originally was to somewhere else.

When it happens to people, it's also called displacement.

Sometimes this might be temporary, sometimes it's permanently because people's homes are no longer safe or livable.

Since 2008, over 376 million people have been displaced as a result of natural disasters.

This is the equivalent of one person being displaced every single second.

Let's do another check.

How many refugees have been created by natural disasters since 2008? Pause your video and have a go at this now.

The correct answer is over 376 million.

We're going to put a task now to put this into practise.

I'd like you to use Source A to describe what a humanitarian problem is.

We're going to read Source A together.

"Source A: humanitarian problems. Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022.

6.

9 million Ukrainians became refugees.

In 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake which killed over 220,000 people and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure." I'd like you to now pause your video and have a go at this task.

I asked you to describe what a humanitarian problem is.

You might have included some of the following in your answer.

Humanitarian problems are a situation or event that poses a serious and immediate threat to the health, safety, or wellbeing of a group of people.

In Source A, the humanitarian problems include the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused a significant humanitarian problem because over 220,000 people died and the destruction of infrastructure caused bigger and longer-term problems. Equally, the 2022 invasion of Ukraine brought many humanitarian problems associated with war, but also the refugee crisis which saw 6.

9 million people displaced from their homes.

Next we're going to think about, how do countries respond to immediate issues? Laura is asking, "Why would a country respond to a humanitarian problem elsewhere in the world?" This is a really good question.

Countries often respond to problems in other parts of the world to stop them from getting worse and therefore affecting more people and maybe moving into other nations.

Helping people in crisis is part of being a responsible member of the international community.

Countries might respond directly or through international organisations like the United Nations, the UN.

In the short term, countries respond to humanitarian problems with urgent actions aimed at saving lives and reducing harm.

These responses focus on the immediate needs, so what needs to happen right now to prevent the crisis from getting worse.

It might include things like emergency relief aid in the form of resources, money, financial support, search and rescue, and that might look like missions or again, people, and the coordination of different aid organisations.

True or false? Countries only work through international agencies like the UN to respond to humanitarian problems. Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is false.

This is because countries will work together sometimes with and sometimes without international agencies to help other countries that are facing these problems. Following a humanitarian problem like a natural disaster, a country might send emergency relief aid.

This is immediate support, things like food, water, medical care, and shelter.

This relief might be deployed by the government or administered through another agency, something like the Red Cross.

In 2024, the UK participated in an international effort to build a temporary pier in Gaza.

This allowed urgent humanitarian relief to reach civilians who had been affected by the ongoing conflict with Israel.

The Royal Navy support ship RFA Cardigan Bay sailed from Cyprus with US engineers to support the Gaza coast operation.

These efforts helped emergency aid reach civilians and save lives.

Sometimes countries work with organisations like the Red Cross to deliver aid to areas that need it most.

In 2023, following the invasion of Ukraine, many people were left without stable housing or heating due to cold weather and continued conflict.

The Red Cross supported over 1.

6 million people by providing heating and other essential services during this period.

Let's do another check.

Which of these agencies might the UK work with to deploy emergency aid? Is it A, the Red Cross; B, the Red Triangle; or C, the Red Square? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is A, the Red Cross.

In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, countries might deploy search and rescue teams to save lives.

In 2025, a 7.

7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, killing over 3,600 people and injuring thousands more.

The UN deployed a multi-agency team, so a team with lots of different skills, to search the rubble and rescue those people who were trapped.

Without the UN's efforts, the death toll would've risen considerably.

After or during a humanitarian crisis, many countries and agencies might respond.

Without coordinating them together, those efforts can become disorganised, leading to wasted resources and confusion.

A country or organisation might take the lead in coordinating that response.

For example, one agency might lead search and rescue whilst another focuses on providing emergency aid.

The Disaster Emergency Committee often plays a key role in coordinating such efforts.

This is to ensure that the most efficient response happens.

The people who are the most expert in one area, for example, it makes sense for them to lead in that area, and that's gonna help as many people as we can.

Why is it important to coordinate aid during a humanitarian problem? Is it A, it keeps the cost down; B, it might make the government more popular; or C, it ensures time and resources are not lost? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is C.

Let's do another check.

I'd like you to explain how countries might respond to a natural disaster in the short term.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

Let's check our answers.

You might have said, "In the short term, countries deploy emergency aid to help save lives.

This emergency aid might be emergency food, supplies or shelter.

Natural disasters can be deadly.

For example, the Myanmar earthquake in 2025 killed over 3,600 people.

It's important that survivors are found quickly and given medical treatment.

Countries might deploy search and rescue teams to help find them.

However, after a natural disaster, it can be very chaotic.

Therefore, it's important that aid and response are coordinated to ensure that everyone is working together to save lives and that time and resources are not lost.

The Disaster Emergency Committee often plays an important role in coordinating efforts." Last, we're going to think about, how do countries respond to long-term issues? After the immediate response to a crisis, long-term issues may remain.

Countries and organisations continue to provide long-term aid to support long-lasting recovery.

Long-term aid may include rebuilding infrastructure and development, education and skills, and peace-building and human rights protections.

For example, in 2024, Bangladesh was impacted by severe flooding as a result of a monsoon, affecting over 18 million people.

The UK and other countries provided immediate emergency aid.

Once the waters retreated, the UK provided a further 450,000 pounds of funding to improve Bangladesh's infrastructure and make it more resilient to flooding.

So it's not just thinking about what's happening immediately, it's thinking about what is going to happen in the future to think about supporting countries if something were to potentially go wrong again.

Sam's asking a really good question.

"What is infrastructure?" Infrastructure is the basic physical and organisational structures and facilities, for example, buildings, roads, power supplies, that are needed for the operation of a society or a business.

Without strong infrastructure, a country will struggle to meet the needs of its citizens and develop in areas like education, healthcare and economic growth.

Let's do a quick check.

What are three examples of infrastructure? Pause your video and have a go at this now.

Let's check our answers.

You could have said any of the following.

Roads and bridges, hospitals, schools, water and electricity systems, communication networks, housing, emergency service buildings, or flood defences.

In May 2025, there were an estimated 4.

5 million refugees who had fled conflict in Syria, with Germany hosting many of those refugees.

Germany has introduced long-term integration programmes such as the GIZ Project.

This encourages Syrian and German children to learn from each other and adapt to their new surroundings.

These programmes help refugees settle into German society.

This improves job opportunities and reduces any social tensions, therefore benefiting both the refugees and the broader communities.

Post-war peace is often fragile.

Even after a conflict ends, violence might flare up again, and therefore we could see human rights abuses may occur.

Between 1990 and 1994, Rwanda experienced a civil war, that's a war within the nation, and genocide during which 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days.

Since 1994, Rwanda has not experienced conflict.

Lots of countries have invested in Rwanda's development and that has led to significant improvements.

For example, the Human Development Index more than doubled and life expectancy rose from 49 to 67 years.

This investment included work to promote peace and break down community barriers between the different ethnic groups within Rwanda, which had prompted conflict previously.

Sam's telling us that the HDI is a way to measure how well people are doing in a country.

It looks at things like how long people live, how educated they are and their standard of living.

So we want that figure to be higher.

Human rights protections during humanitarian problems are also very important.

The UN works with Human Rights Watch, which checks and reports on violations of human rights.

In 2017, Myanmar security forces burned down villages of Rohingya people in the country.

Through the UN's investigations, they were able to corroborate the accounts of refugees, so check them, who shared their experiences as they fled.

Countries issued sanctions to punish Myanmar for those human rights abuses.

Let's do a check.

Which agency monitors violations of human rights? Is it A, the Human Rights Association; B, Human Rights Movement; or C, Human Rights Watch? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is C.

Let's do a final task to put into practise what we've done.

I'd like you to summarise how countries respond to humanitarian problems in the long term.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

Let's think about what we could have included in our answer.

You might have said, "Countries can respond to humanitarian problems in the long term in a range of ways.

For example, it's important to help rebuild a country's infrastructure so that they can recover properly from natural disasters.

This can be seen in 2024 when the UK provided funding to improve Bangladesh's infrastructure and make it more resilient to flooding.

The country might also help to ensure that after a war conflict doesn't break out again.

For instance, in 1994, countries invested lots of money to improve education health and outcomes in Rwanda.

This helped to reduce tensions between different ethnic groups and helped stop further conflict.

Education is also a very important long-term response.

Germany has helped Syrian refugees settle into their country with reintegration programmes, which improves employment opportunities." Today we have been learning about, "What are global humanitarian problems?" We have learned that humanitarian problems are serious events that threaten people's health, safety and wellbeing.

We've learned that they can be caused by natural disasters, which are increasingly influenced by human activities, like climate change, or by human actions such as war.

This may lead to refugee crises and displacement.

Short-term responses to humanitarian problems focus on saving lives and providing immediate aid.

Effective coordination between countries and organisations helps ensure those resources are used efficiently.

Long-term humanitarian responses focus on rebuilding, improving infrastructure and supporting communities.

Countries invest in education, healthcare, and peace-building efforts to help people recover after crises.

That's the end of today's lesson, thank you for joining me.