Impact Trust • Working glossary

Protracted crisis / protracted emergency

A crisis that drags on for many years.

Details

Our Take
'Long-running crisis' is plainer. Meaningful for programming because protracted contexts require fundamentally different approaches from acute emergencies. In protracted contexts, the humanitarian-development divide breaks down because you cannot keep treating a 15-year crisis as an 'emergency.' Many National Societies operate in contexts where preparedness and response are simultaneous and permanent.
Synonyms/Variants
Long-running crisis; Chronic crisis; Prolonged emergency; Forgotten crisis
Typical everyday wording
A crisis that goes on for years with no end in sight