While the focus of the United States and its allies has been on turning back the threat posed by the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the conflict has left a tide of human detritus in its wake. Since fighting intensified in Iraq beginning in January, more that 1.2 million Iraqis have been displaced, the United Nations says.

In addition, a further four million Syrians have been forced to seek refuge outside its borders in sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. As a result of the latest Isil offensive, some 500,000 Iraqis have sought refuge under the auspices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

In all, the nations involved are facing an unprecedented crisis. Whole communities have been swept aside, generations of tradition uprooted, families forced to flee with just the clothes on their backs and the few precious items that they can carry as they escape an evil enemy bent on destruction and massacre as never before.

These are desperate times, where millions are at the mercy of their fellow man, where aid is the most precious commodity, where humanity is under threat, and where the human condition is focused on getting through the next day.

The case for supporting aid organisations has never been so strong. There is little food to eat, water is precious and scarce while shelter is but a sheet of plastic covering for those who are lucky. And among those who have fled, there is the ever-present threat of illness spreading in the young, old and most vulnerable.

Already, aid organisations are dealing with the prospect of the spread of polio and have commenced an inoculation programme to prevent any spread of the debilitating disease in the young.

There is an urgent need now for shelter, clothing, food and water and at least eight temporary camps are to be set up for this latest tide of the destitute and the desperate. And for all of us, there is a moral duty to give. Now.