World needs new way of looking at, helping refugee crisis, advocates say

OTTAWA – An unprecedented global refugee crisis is prompting humanitarian organizations to take unprecedented steps of their own.

More than 60 million people worldwide have been displaced by ongoing conflicts and the effects of climate change but organizations are struggling to raise the resources to help them.

READ MORE: Afghan refugees internally displaced by war reaches 1.2 million: Amnesty International

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Nicolas Moyer of the Humanitarian Coalition says one challenge is how to rally people to support complex and protracted crises.

His organization, which represents five agencies, has linked up with several others and the private sector to try and collectively draw more attention and financial support to refugees in conjunction with Monday’s World Refugee Day.

READ MORE: 27.8M people globally internally displaced in 2015: report

Canadian musician Tom Cochrane, who has worked with the development group World Vision for years, says it is essential for refugee children to see the West as caring about their plight.

He says if the millions of children marginalized by conflict don’t have access to schools and other supports, it threatens the longer term prospects for peace.