From hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing a horrific programme of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, to hundreds of children succumbing to starvation each day in war-torn Yemen, 2017 has been a year marked by a series of deadly crises. 

With four of the highest-level humanitarian emergencies currently under way, millions of people whose lives have been destroyed by the war in Syria are also in dire need of help, as are those caught at the centre of “Africa’s world war” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

This complex web of ongoing conflicts has led charities to dub 2017 an “unprecedented period of humanitarian need”. 

“It has been a very bad year, definitely,” Red Cross’ disaster management coordinator Luke Tredget told HuffPost UK. 

“We have seen huge, incredibly challenging disasters around the world,” he said. 

According to the charity, the number of people requiring food assistance this year peaked at 83 million – almost double the number in 2015.

Meanwhile, the world’s displaced population currently stands at 65.6 million.

Not only is that the highest figure since World War II, but is the equivalent of everyone in the UK being uprooted from their homes due to conflict or persecution. 

“What is really worrying is not just the size of the numbers involved, but that this is taking place in really complex conditions where the response that aid agencies can give is not straightforward,” Tredget continued. 

“It’s intertwined with political factors and other complex issues. So in places like Yemen, Somalia, south Sudan and northern Nigeria, we really are up against an unprecedented set of challenges.” 

The sentiment is one echoed by Lydia Sparrow, a humanitarian response officer for Save The Children. 

“With natural disasters, the appeals are sharp and distinct,” Lydia Sparrow from Save The Children explained.

“We have an emergency response, there will be a surge in donations from the public, and then we move into a recovery phase.

“But when you’re looking at conflict situations like Syria and Yemen, the context continues to change, with spikes in tension and outbreaks of disease.” 

Oxfam’s head of fundraising Tim Hunter added: “These situations are certainly harder to fundraise for because they – and their effects – tend to go on for months, if not years and years.” 

The Syria emergency alone has been going on for almost seven years, with millions of people still displaced from their homes. A whole generation of Syrian children are growing up without having ever stepped foot in their homeland, stuck instead in refugee camps in nearby countries. 

“There is a notion that when people flee during a conflict, they will go back to their homes relatively quickly,” Hunter continued.

“Tragically, that is not what usually happens in those situations – the average time someone spends in a refugee camp is somewhere between 15 and 20 years.” 

Tradget added: “It’s sad to say that most of the biggest crises have been going on for several years and it’s therefore very unlikely that we are going to see those situations improve in the near future.” 

But what can Brits – many of whom have never been within a thousand miles of these emergencies – do to help? 

“The thing that I always say to people is that if you want to help during these crises, making a one-off donation is obviously really good,” Hunter explained. 

“But for organisations like Oxfam and others working in this area, doing something on a regular monthly basis is what allows us to be there and stay during these long protracted crisis. It’s our lifeblood.” 

Sharing information about these crises is another key way to support aid agencies, according to the Red Cross. 

“A lot of these emergencies are hard to fundraise for because they’re not often featured in the mainstream press,” Tradget said. 

“People just haven’t heard of them.”