DAKAR, Senegal, December 22, 2023 – A staggering 46.7 million children in West and Central Africa face another year of humanitarian need, primarily driven by ongoing conflicts and insecurity. The situation is exacerbated by the massive displacement of women and children from Sudan to Chad, according to the latest press statement from UNICEF.
UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Felicité Tchibindat, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “Children do not cause conflicts but are powerless to stop them. We need to do more to build a lasting solution for the region’s children and give them hope as they grow up in the midst of chronic and forgotten crises.”
The organization is urgently appealing for $1.89 billion in its 2024 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal to reach an estimated 24.1 million children, up from 23.5 million in 2023.
More than a third of the funding requirement in 2024 aims to address malnutrition, with the Sahel countries being the most affected. Burkina Faso, Mali, and north-west Nigeria show emergency levels of child wasting that exceed 15 per cent. A scale-up in the coverage of treatment services for child wasting has been made possible by funding from donor partners.
However, lack of funding remains a significant hindrance to the humanitarian response in the region, with Burkina Faso’s 2023 appeal being only 11 per cent funded and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s appeal at a mere 13 per cent.
Some of the region’s humanitarian emergencies include:
Burkina Faso: Over 2 million people displaced, facing a de facto blockade by armed groups.
Cameroon: 4.7 million people, including 2.5 million children, urgently require humanitarian assistance due to armed conflict, intercommunal violence, disease outbreaks, and flooding.
Central African Republic: Despite a decrease in insecurity, 2.8 million people, including 1.3 million children, will require humanitarian assistance in 2024.
Chad: Hosting half of all refugees in West and Central Africa, 1 million out of 2.2 million, facing multidimensional crises aggravated by climate change.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Home to the highest number of United Nations-verified grave violations against children globally, severely impacting 14.9 million children.
Mali: Unprecedented rising humanitarian needs, with more than 40 per cent of the population projected to be in need of assistance in 2024.
Niger: Facing armed conflicts, climate-induced disasters, and epidemics, requiring humanitarian aid for an estimated 4.3 million people, including 2.4 million children.
Northeast Nigeria: Armed conflict affecting 7.7 million people, with additional displacements due to violence in northwest Nigeria and Benue State.
UNICEF aims to reach various goals through its 2024 appeal, including providing measles vaccines to 6.1 million children, treating severe wasting in 3.5 million children, and ensuring safe channels to report sexual exploitation and abuse. The organization also aims to provide sufficient water access and humanitarian cash transfers to affected households.
Given the growing insecurity and threats to humanitarian workers in the region, UNICEF collaborates with numerous local actors crucial in negotiating access to and promoting acceptance of aid among the affected population and humanitarian responders.
