What Crisis? Forgotten and Neglected

The world is turning a blind eye to millions of Africans who have fled their homes due to conflict, a Norwegian charity group said. “The fact that most of these people do not turn up at our doorsteps gives us no right to close our eyes to their suffering, and does not remove our responsibility to assist,” the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said in a statement. “Economic support to alleviate humanitarian crises must be given based on needs, and not geopolitical interests.”

Central African Republic tops the Norwegian Refugee Council´s yearly list of the world´s ten most neglected displacement crises, followed by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Nigeria. More than 12 million people have been forced from their homes in these countries combined

“The international community has not only forgotten these crises, but has never really shown sufficient willingness to contribute to a solution. Many of the displaced people have fled their homes multiple times, and each time they get increasingly vulnerable,” said Jan Egeland. “One out of five Central Africans are displaced from their homes. Still, the displacement crisis rarely attracts any media attention, the funding to humanitarian assistance does not match the grave needs, and the violence in the country has been escalating further since the end of last year,” said Egeland. Last year, only 38% of the UN appeal for humanitarian assistance to Central African Republic was covered.

Spreading ethnic violence in Congo has forced more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes within the country this year – more than triple the number uprooted within Syria and five times the number within Iraq.

 South Sudan’s civil war has been ranked fourth on the list of the world’s ten most neglected displacement crises. The NRC added, “…the crisis in South Sudan has gained little media attention and is among the neglected crises with the lowest media coverage per displaced person.”

Children's charity UNICEF has issued an emergency appeal amid warnings that hundreds of thousands of children in northern Somalia are at risk of severe malnutrition. The region is facing a food crisis caused by a serious drought that has seen no rain over the past six months. UNICEF has warned that the drought has seen farmers losing their livestock and crops and families displaced throughout the country - while ongoing conflict in certain regions is creating access difficulties and further displacement. While a total of 1.4 million children are facing acute malnutrition in Somalia, UNICEF expects to treat 275,000 for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) - the life-threatening stage of malnutrition.

The ten most neglected displacement crises:

1. Central African Republic
2. Democratic Republic of the Congo
3. Sudan
4. South Sudan
5. Nigeria
6. Yemen
7. Palestine
8. Ukraine
9. Myanmar
10. Somalia