The humanitarian situation in the Sahel

Translated by Aurora Forlivesi

The Sahel continues to be the stage for one of the world’s most severe and forgotten humanitarian crises. In this vast region of West Africa — which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Chad, and parts of Nigeria — more than 4 million people are currently displaced due to armed conflicts, widespread insecurity, climate change, and the lack of essential services. This dramatic figure, which has increased by about two-thirds compared to five years ago, reflects the worsening of a complex and multidimensional crisis.

During a press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Abdouraouf Gnon-Kondé, UNHCR Director for West and Central Africa, made a heartfelt appeal to the international community:

“The countries of the Sahel cannot face these challenges alone. Protecting millions of families on the run requires more than words — it demands concrete action and global solidarity.”

Most displaced people remain within their own countries, but cross-border movements are becoming increasingly frequent, putting great pressure on host communities and already fragile national systems. Violence by armed groups, intercommunal conflicts, forced recruitment, and gender-based violence are constantly on the rise. Women and children, who make up about 80% of the displaced population, are the most vulnerable victims — often subjected to human trafficking, exploitation, and sexual abuse.

The crisis has also devastated public services: over 14,800 schools have been closed, depriving 3 million children of access to education and safe spaces. At the same time, more than 900 healthcare facilities are out of service, leaving millions of people without medical care. This emergency affects children most severely: according to UNHCR, 5.3 million minors in the Sahel are currently in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Food insecurity has become one of the main causes of displacement. Recurrent droughts, environmental degradation, and competition for scarce resources such as land and water fuel tensions and force families to flee. Today, more than 32 million people across the region are in need of food assistance or urgent nutritional support. As Gnon-Kondé emphasized,

“Climate shocks amplify risks and intensify competition for resources, threatening social cohesion and driving new waves of displacement.”

Despite the scale of the emergency, the humanitarian response is severely hampered by funding shortages and difficulties accessing the hardest-hit areas. In 2025, UNHCR raised only 32% of the $409.7 million requested to support operations in the Sahel. The broader regional humanitarian appeal of $2.1 billion was funded at just 19%. This lack of resources has forced reductions in essential programs for registration, shelter, education, and healthcare, leaving over 212,000 refugees and asylum seekers without documentation and, consequently, more vulnerable to arbitrary detention and exploitation.

Even with the challenges, the Sahel endures thanks to the solidarity of its communities. In Mali, 90% of displaced people report feeling integrated, thanks to the generosity of local residents who share land and resources. In Burkina Faso, traditional conflict-resolution mechanisms are helping to maintain social cohesion between displaced populations and host communities.

UNHCR and its partners continue to work to strengthen the protection, inclusion, and resilience of affected populations. In Niger, production cooperatives have been established employing both refugees and local citizens to manufacture hygiene products such as soap and face masks. In Mauritania, at the Mbera camp, tutoring and educational support courses have been organized; in Chad, over 500 refugee students were able to take their high school graduation exams thanks to dedicated educational programs. At the same time, UNHCR has contributed to strengthening the healthcare system through staff training, provision of equipment, and the creation of isolation spaces for contagious cases.

But the reality on the ground remains dire. In Burkina Faso, over 800,000 people have abandoned their homes in the past fifteen months. Destroyed villages, burned schools, massacred families, and daily violence mark the lives of thousands of civilians. Yet, amid this tragedy, stories of courage and humanity also emerge: people like Dianbendé, a community leader who shelters over 2,500 displaced individuals on his property, or Ilyas, a Malian refugee and UN volunteer, who continues to work in the Mentao camp despite ongoing threats.

All countries in the Sahel are signatories to the 1951 Geneva Convention, the 1967 Protocol, and the Kampala Convention on internally displaced persons, but honoring these commitments requires concrete and sustained international support.

As recalled by Gnon-Kondé:

“Protecting millions of families and ensuring them a safe future requires unity, action, and genuine solidarity. The Sahel cannot be left alone.”

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