'It's time to reassess the goals of humanitarian aid'

Those caught in conflict and natural disasters are part of growing trend exemplified by Syria, South Sudan and the Philippines, wites David Milband, president and CEO of International Rescue Committee, for the Guardian.

He writes that, for many years, people have questioned the conventional distinction between the humanitarian system that responds to emergencies caused by wars and natural disasters, and the development community that, in the longer term, seeks to tackle poverty. When the majority of the global poor live in fragile states, and when the average refugee spends nearly 20 years outside their home country, the distinction has in reality dissolved – yet it still conditions many of the institutions that govern this work.