Seven African countries in the list of the most neglected crises

OSLO, Norway

Burkina Faso, plagued by jihadist violence since 2015, is experiencing "the most neglected crisis in the world" according to an annual ranking published Thursday by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

The NGO publishes each year the list of the ten most "neglected" population displacement crises, based on three criteria: the lack of political will of the international community, media coverage and humanitarian funding.

According to the NRC, Burkina - in second place in the ranking last year - has "more than 14,000 people" killed in the past five years, "half of them since January 2022" and more than two million internally displaced people.

In 2022, "increasing violence and displacement (of populations) have left almost one in four Burkinabè in need of humanitarian assistance", adds the report.

"Only 42% of the humanitarian financial aid requested has been distributed in 2022", he specifies.

The report also mentions the numerous attacks on water points by armed groups which deprived 830,000 people of water as well as the closure of 6,200 schools, affecting more than one million children.

“Political instability adds another layer to the crisis with two military coups”, in 2022, continues the NRC.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is second in this ranking, due to the "multiple crises" in the east of the country in particular. Colombia and its "60 years of armed conflict" is third ahead of Sudan and Venezuela.

Burundi, Mali, Cameroon, El Salvador and Ethiopia complete this top 10.

The NGO also criticizes the unequal treatment by the international community of certain crises compared to the support given to Ukraine.

"For every dollar raised by a person in need in Ukraine, only 25 cents were raised per inhabitant in need in the ten most neglected crises in the world", raises the NRC, which affirms that "negligence is a choice ", however "reversible".

The NRC recommends "providing humanitarian assistance according to the needs of affected populations, and not according to geopolitical interests or the degree of media attention given to certain crises".