Nigeriens holding a flag of Burkina Faso (L) and Niger and a sign reading “Together we will make it”. (Djibo Issifou/picture alliance via Getty Images)
- Burkina Faso is the worst crisis in the world for the second time running, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
- Nine of the ten neglected crisis hotspots are in Africa, with one in Central America.
- The neglect is due to a lack of media coverage, no political will, and low donor attention.
Ninety percent of the world’s most neglected crises for 2023 were in the Sahel and Central African regions, with Burkina Faso being the worst for the second time in a row, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Cameroon ranked second, then Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, and Niger, before the only non-African state on the list, Honduras in Central America.
The top 10 is rounded out by four more African states: South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan.
The NRC classified neglected crisis hotspots as areas where there is a lack of media coverage, where policymakers do not prioritise finding answers, and where donor nations do not provide sufficient funding.
“Often the countries that top our list are of little geopolitical interest to world powers,” the organisation said in a statement.
Other, arguably worse-hit crisis areas in the world receive attention, such as Israel’s war on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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According to Uppsala University’s Conflict Data Program (UCD), the war in Ukraine saw 71 000 deaths last year, and Israel’s war on Hamas recorded over 22 000 deaths in 2023, though that number has risen substantially since.
UCD notes that most wars took place in Africa, with the civil war in Sudan that broke out in 2023 being the third-deadliest conflict of 2023.
However, the handling of the many crises in Africa is underwhelming.
“For some crises, we witness impactful and swift political action, borders kept open, plenty of funding, and extensive media coverage extensive.
“Those in power need to show the same humanity towards people affected by crises in places such as Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said NRC’s secretary-general Jan Egeland.
Media blackout
The NRC pointed out that crisis cases get a lot of attention only when their root causes or origins had a direct impact on the developed world.
NRC argued the reason was that “this is often tied to how much political attention a crisis gets – if that is lacking, the media may be less likely to cover a crisis”.
One given example was the influx of refugees into Europe around 2015.
The influx resulted in the European media getting interested in what was happening in countries such as Syria where the refugees were coming from.
“When we know someone who has fled from a crisis, we are more likely to care about it,” NRC said.
Funding neglect
The NRC said neglect was a choice made by decision-makers because the details of what is needed are all there for everyone to see.
“Neglect is a choice – that millions of displaced people are cast aside year after year without the support and resources they so desperately need is not inevitable,” said Egeland.
Egeland urged some of the world’s leading private entities and the donor community to come together to plug the funding gap, which is 57% of the crisis needs not met.
“We urgently need investment for the world’s most neglected crises. These investments must be made both in the form of diplomatic initiatives to get warring parties to come to the negotiating table, as well as funding commensurate with needs from donor countries,” said Egeland.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
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Publish date : 2024-06-04 20:36:47