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Joint Statement by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency Vice-President, Mr. Süreyya Er and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Ursula Mueller

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Issued at the conclusion of the Global South-South Development Expo 2017 Leadership Roundtable: "From delivering aid to ending need: Advancing the 2030 Agenda in crisis contexts", Antalya, 29 November 2017

The Global South-South Development Expo was held this year at a time of unprecedented global humanitarian need. In 2017, a record 145 million people across the globe required humanitarian assistance and protection.

The increases in human suffering are driven by protracted conflicts and natural disasters. Marked by mass displacement, fractured livelihoods and a breakdown in governance structures and basic services, the resultant complex emergencies exact a toll that lasts decades. Even with record amounts of funding for humanitarian response in recent years, contributions lag far behind the ever-increasing numbers of people in need of assistance.

Today, however, we heard messages and insights in the high-level Leadership Roundtable that were very much focused on the crucial role of the global South in pushing back the seemingly never-ending increase in human misery.

Governments, regional actors and civil society in the South are already on the front lines of humanitarian action, from hosting the vast majority of the world's refugees to carrying out and, increasingly, funding the response.

In 2016, Turkey was the world's second largest donor and most generous country in terms of her ratio to its national income, spending US$6 billion on humanitarian assistance. Turkey hosts millions of displaced Syrian people and her intervention in Somalia saved millions from starvation and created hope for future by providing fundamental means for resilience; delivered timely food aid to Kirkuk in Northern Iraq, Afghanistan and violence-affected Rohingya people in Bangladesh. Moreover, Turkey involves in long-term development works to ensure sustainability in wider geography.

While bilateral humanitarian assistance dominates South-South Cooperation, Southern partners are also increasingly channelling their support through effective multilateral organizations. In 2017, the OCHA-managed Central Emergency Response Fund received contributions from Chile, China, India, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, among other emerging donors.

Today we also heard participants reaffirm their Governments' and organizations' commitment to our plan to move beyond the cycle of crises: the New Way of Working. Launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul and encapsulated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goal "to reach the furthest behind first," the New Way of Working is catalyzing shifts in collaboration between development and humanitarian actors, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Chad, and from Ethiopia to Mauritania.

We heard an innovative 'South-South driven triple-win financing modality' of Lives and Livelihood Fund (LLF) from the representative of Islamic Development Bank, that has been deployed successfully to mobilize resources for fragile and least developed countries.

In two days, the Global Humanitarian Overview 2018 will be launched in Geneva and we will again be confronted with record numbers of people in need. That is why are extremely grateful to all of the participants who took part in the Leadership Roundtable today. The massive and complex humanitarian crises of today cannot be tackled without the spirt of cooperation we saw on display. Together we will leave no one behind.

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