Switzerland - The scale and complexity of the world’s current crises exceed the capacity and resources of any one humanitarian agency. Through reforms in coordination and collaboration over the last 10 years, international actors are striving to better cope with modern humanitarian challenges.

Today (02/06), Shelter Projects 2015–2016, published by the UN Migration Agency (IOM) on behalf of the Global Shelter Cluster, was launched in Geneva, Switzerland. It contains over 40 new shelter case studies, contributed by 20 humanitarian agencies, covering shelter responses to major emergencies including, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Lake Chad Basin and Ukraine.

Every two years since 2008, the Global Shelter Cluster has produced the publication, Shelter Projects, to share operational knowledge and experience of humanitarian shelter and settlement responses. The publication sheds light on the strengths, weaknesses and lessons learned that can be reflected in future responses to manmade and natural disasters.

"Shelter Projects helps us learn by sharing honest stories of what did not work, as well as stories of what did work in past humanitarian shelter responses," said Joseph Ashmore, IOM Shelter and Settlements Expert and Global Shelter Coordination Focal Point, at the launch event. "By supporting learning,  this publication helps us to better meet the shelter and settlement needs of some of the most vulnerable people on earth," added Ashmore.

Representing the vast shelter response experiences of over 300 field practitioners, this core product of the Global Shelter Cluster has been used for shelter programming and strategy development, advocacy, workshops and training, and for research purposes.

Shelter Projects 2015-2016 is available for download at: www.shelterprojects.org.

For further information, please contact Joseph Ashmore at IOM HQ, Tel: +41 22 717 9225, Email: jashmore@iom.int