The musician penned the haunting track, He Was Alone, after spending time at a refugee camp in southern Turkey on the Turkish/Syrian border.
"We see this human disaster and we see numbers in millions and we're trying to make sense of it," he told the BBC.
"We've forgotten how to understand the human story behind this."
Three-year-old Syrian boy Kurdi made headlines around the world in September when he washed up on a Turkish beach.
"What I came to realise is that it's the reductionism which has caused much of the problem," said Yusuf. "That we've forgotten how to understand the human story behind this and so it's that young soul that I visualised in my head when I wrote this this song."
He said that, when the shocking pictures of Kurdi appeared in the press and on TV in 2015, "suddenly people woke up a bit for a while and said, 'Oh God, that looks like my little nephew or my little son', and so that came to my mind."
But he also lamented any initial public galvanisation over the humanitarian crisis in the West, saying it had long since dissipated.
"It's kind of, 'Well that's news today and tomorrow it's old - and people move on and politics gets involved. It is quite sad that this happens and it is the politics which I think interferes with it."
Proceeds from the new record will go toward the #YouAreNotAlone campaign and Save The Children.

Alfie Hyett was found by his mother Louise Hembrow at home in Hereford last March.
Police told the inquest they found no evidence to support a claim he was copying a choking game that encouraged people to block their airways.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded at Hereford Town Hall.
More on this and other stories from Hereford and Worcester
When the inquest opened in June, Mark Bricknell, senior coroner for Herefordshire, heard Alfie died of vagal inhibition, which causes the heart to stop through the stimulation of the vagus nerve in the neck.
Before the inquest, Ms Hembrow told the BBC she believed her son had taken part in the game where the brain is starved of oxygen to create an adrenalin rush.
However, Det Sgt Mark Jinks, from West Mercia Police, said there was no evidence he had researched the game or discussed it with friends.
Mr Bricknell said he believed Alfie had tied the scarf around his neck out of childhood curiosity or experimentation without realising the potential consequences, and had not meant to take his own life.

Ex-servicemen and women joined many members of the general public to reflect on those who died or have been injured in service to their country.
Here are images from some of the acts of remembrance from those who took part.

It was the 23-year-old's third WTA title of her career and is a welcome boost after a poor start to the year.
Australian Open semi-finalist and fellow Briton Johanna Konta, 24, rose one place to 26 after making the last eight in Monterrey.
Britain's Naomi Broady, 26, is up 20 places to 76 after reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open.

Malcolm Sherratt, 64, claimed more than Â£46,000 in disability benefits over eight years, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.
He had told authorities he needed help dressing and going to the toilet.
Sherratt, from Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for 12 months after being secretly filmed by the DWP working out at a gym.
He previously admitted two counts of false representation and three counts of making a dishonest representation.
Sherrat, of Arbourfield Drive, began making claims three weeks after taking part in Mr Universe 2007.
He told authorities he needed help cooking and washing and sometimes needed a wheelchair or sticks, the DWP said.
But officials discovered he worked out twice a day and filmed him lifting weights.
Sherratt was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Friday.
Singer-songwriter Yusuf, formerly known as Cat Stevens, has said the harrowing death of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi inspired his latest song.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
A 10-year-old boy found hanged in his bedroom "did not understand the risks of putting a scarf around his neck", a coroner has said.
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The nation fell silent for two minutes on Wednesday to remember the nation's war dead on Armistice Day.
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British number two Heather Watson is up 31 places in the world rankings to 53 after winning the Monterrey Open.
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A former Mr Universe contestant who claimed he had a bad back has been jailed for benefit fraud.