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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has announced that $4.7bn will be required by humanitarian partners to aid 20.9 million vulnerable individuals in various parts of Nigeria, Chad, and five other African countries.
This information was revealed in the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Requirement Overview report, which was published on the organization's website on Thursday.
The Sahel, a region in Africa that separates the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, encompasses Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.
The OCHA called on the international community to donate generously to ensure that the region's humanitarian response plans could be fully executed by the end of the year.
The UN agency reports that 32.8 million people in the Sahel region are impacted by a combination of interconnected crises, worsened by instability, deteriorating security, and the impacts of climate change. As a result, these individuals require humanitarian aid and protection services.
The agency also highlights that escalating violence and conflict in the Sahel are endangering lives and means of survival, leading to displacement and hindering access to essential social services.
The UN has reported that 7.9 million individuals in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states in Nigeria require assistance, with a target of 4.4 million people to receive funding totaling $926.5 million.
Additionally, it was revealed that 2.2 million children in the area have been unable to attend school due to closures, 1,263 health centers are shut down and the region is home to two million refugees and asylum seekers, as well as 5.6 million internally displaced persons, many of whom have experienced multiple displacements.
Humanitarian partners are seeking $4.7 billion in 2024 to address the urgent needs of 20.9 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon's Far North Region, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria's Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states.
The OCHA has issued a warning that lives are in jeopardy unless the necessary resources are provided to respond to these crises and support the most vulnerable individuals in the region.
The report also mentioned that as of 30 April 2024, Burkina Faso and Nigeria had the highest number of internally displaced persons, with over 2.1 million each, stressing that "Out of the total 7.6 million displaced individuals as of 30 April 2024, 5.6 million were internally displaced persons.
In West and Central Africa, more than half of all refugees and asylum seekers are children. Burkina Faso and Nigeria have the highest number of internally displaced persons with over 2.1 million each as of 30 April 2024, while Chad has the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers with 1.2 million as of the same date.
"The renewed conflict in Sudan has already led to over half a million Sudanese seeking refuge in neighboring Chad, and this number is likely to increase unless the situation stabilizes," the report stated.
The regional head of OCHA, Charles Bernimolin, emphasized the crucial role of humanitarian and international partners during a crisis.
He highlighted the significant challenge of inadequate resources in addressing the humanitarian crisis but expressed confidence in the ability of international partners to intervene.
He said: "However, the interconnected crises faced are more complex than ever. Without the necessary resources to meet their needs, these crises will continue to escalate and spread, undermining resilience and endangering the lives of vulnerable children, women, and men.
"Furthermore, since humanitarian action alone is not a long-term solution, I also urge international partners to continue engaging with the region to establish lasting solutions that will reduce humanitarian needs in the future."
According to UN data, humanitarian partners provided life-saving assistance and protection services to over 15.6 million people across the Sahel in 2023. However, millions were still left without adequate support.
