This week, innovators from all over the world are in the UAE for the 13th Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition. For a long time, innovation has been considered essential for economic gain. Despite great progress in technology and development, we are witnessing the highest level of humanitarian needs since the Second World War. With the world stretched for resources to address the needs of millions of people affected by conflicts and disasters, it is time to think of cost-effective and efficient solutions to end their plight.

At the beginning of 2016, 125 million people in 37 countries around the world are in need of humanitarian aid. If all of these people were in one country, it would be the 11th largest in the world, bigger than Japan.

Disasters are devastating the lives of millions, leading to an unprecedented number of refugees and internally displaced people. The cost of conflicts to the global economy is $14.3 trillion (Dh52.25tn) per year –13 per cent of the world’s GDP, increasing humanitarian assistance by 600 per cent over the past decade.