LONDON - For the first time, Burkina Faso tops the list of the world’s most neglected displacement crises, according to a new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Redirection of aid and attention towards Ukraine has increased neglect of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The displacement of 2 million people in Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected crisis, while the world’s attention and aid has been focused on Ukraine.
Burkina Faso has endured five years of conflict with militias – who have attacked water sources and forced school closures – now controlling up to 40% of the country’s territory.
About 800,000 people in these areas have no access to services, according to the report, and a quarter of the population relies on humanitarian aid. The NRC said a siege on the city of Djibo means many have resorted to eating wild leaves to survive.
Ukraine received five times more media coverage and four times more funding than the world’s 10 most crucial displacement crises, according to the NRC’s annual report on situations that need more attention from diplomats and the media.
“We must do more to end the suffering in Burkina Faso before despair becomes entrenched and it is added to the growing list of protracted crises. That this crisis is already so deeply neglected shows a failure of the international system to react to newly emerging crises, as it also fails those lost in the shadows for decades,” said Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary general.
Last year’s humanitarian response was only 42% funded and this year’s plan, launched in April, has also received only 18% of the $882m (£659m) requested.
The report also highlighted the need for more focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been either first or second on the list since it was launched seven years ago and has seen displacement grow because of a renewed insurgency by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels over the past year. The DRC also received less than half the funding it required last year.
NRC said that Africa, where the bulk of the 10 most neglected crises are, suffered a 7% drop in aid in 2022 as money was redirected towards Ukraine and hosting Ukrainian refugees.
The annual list of neglected displacement crises is based on three criteria: lack of humanitarian funding, lack of media attention, and a lack of international political and diplomatic initiatives. The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo ranks second, having appeared first or second on the list every year since its inception seven years ago. Colombia, Sudan, and Venezuela follow in this grim ranking.
More than five times more articles were written about the Ukrainian displacement crisis last year than about all the world’s ten most neglected crises in total. For every dollar raised per person in need in Ukraine in 2022, just 25 cents were raised per person in need across the world’s ten most neglected crises.
The repeated warnings of increased disparity due to the reallocation of resources to the Ukraine response have now become reality. The redirection of a large amount of aid money towards Ukraine and towards hosting refugees in donor countries means that many crises have seen a drop in assistance, despite growing needs. Total aid to Africa, where we find seven out of the ten most neglected crises, was 34 billion USD in 2022, representing a drop of 7.4 per cent compared to 2021.
The Ukraine crisis also contributed to an increase in food insecurity in many of the countries featured in the report, worsening already dire crises, and increasing the number of people in need.
