Cameroon overtakes Burkina Faso as 'most neglected' crisis: NGO
Plagued by conflict, Cameroon has overtaken Burkina Faso as the world's "most neglected" humanitarian crisis hotspot, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Tuesday in an annual report.
Every year, the Scandinavian NGO publishes a list of the 10 most neglected crises, based on three criteria for what is lacking: humanitarian funding, media attention and international political engagement.
"Three distinct and protracted crises have gripped Cameroon for over a decade: the long-running conflict with armed groups in the Lake Chad Basin, violence in the Northwest and Southwest regions" where most of the country's anglophone minority live "and continued instability spilling over from the Central African Republic," the NRC said in a statement.
It noted that as of 2024 "some 3.4 million people were in urgent need of assistance and protection" in the region.
"Over 1.1 million were internally displaced, while nearly half a million refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety in the country remained stranded in limbo," NRC said.
The NGO said that despite the dire situation media coverage has been negligible, the international response ineffective, and only 45 percent of the humanitarian funding requested has been provided.
"Cameroon's crisis is a case study in global neglect: underreported and underfunded. With no signs of renewed attention, support or political engagement, prospects for 2025 are even bleaker," NRC said.
Among the 10 most neglected countries, eight are in Africa.
In addition to Cameroon, the list features Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso , Mali, Uganda, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras and Somalia.
The NRC said "less than half of the required humanitarian funding was provided in 2024," noting that "the shortfall is roughly one percent of what the world spent on defence".
"International solidarity is being overtaken by increasingly introverted and nationalistic policies in previously generous donor nations," said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC.
"Across Europe, the United States and elsewhere we have seen donors turn their backs on people in their hour of need," he added.
After taking office in January, US President Donald Trump froze US foreign aid and dismantled the development agency USAID, which managed an annual budget of $42.8 billion, representing 42 percent of global humanitarian aid.
Citing budget shortfalls and a need to increase military spending to counter a perceived threat from Russia, several European countries have also announced cuts to their international aid.
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