Latest news with #JanEgeland
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Cameroon: the world's most neglected displacement crisis
Cameroon is now the world's most neglected displacement crisis, according to a new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Decision makers must recognise that displacement isn't a distant crisis; it's a shared responsibility which cannot be ignored. The annual list of neglected displacement crises is based on three criteria: lack of humanitarian funding, lack of media attention, and a lack of effective political engagement to end conflict and improve conditions for displaced people. The crisis in Ethiopia ranks second, its highest-ever placement on the list, while Mozambique, in third, features for the first time. Burkina Faso, which topped the list for the previous two years, ranks fourth. The Democratic Republic of Congo features eighth after ranking in the top three since this report's inception. These shifts do not reflect meaningful improvements but instead they highlight a harsh reality: nearly all protracted humanitarian crises are now being neglected. 'International solidarity is being overtaken by increasingly introverted and nationalistic policies in previously generous donor nations. This is deepening the neglect of people affected by crisis and displacement at a time when a record number of people have been forced from their homes. Across Europe, the United States and elsewhere we have seen donors turn their backs on people in their hour of need,' said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC. 'It is critical that we do not accept donors' abandonment of aid as a foregone conclusion. Displacement isn't a distant crisis: it's a shared responsibility. We must stand up and demand a reversal of brutal aid cuts which are costing more lives by the day.' The shortfall between what was required to meet humanitarian needs in 2024 and what was delivered was a staggering USD 25 billion, meaning over half of all needs went unmet. This figure is large but also roughly one per cent of what the world spent on defence in 2024. 'Adequate funding is essential. But funding alone cannot halt the suffering. Without effective conflict resolution, disaster prevention and diplomatic engagement, these protracted crises will go on and on. More people will be displaced, and more lives will be shattered,' said Egeland. Cameroon has repeatedly featured high on this list and continues to grapple with three distinct and protracted crises that have displaced hundreds of thousands. It is a case study in global neglect: little diplomacy, underfunded and under-reported. The displacement crisis in the country was seldom mentioned in most media outlets around the world, leaving the realities for displaced and conflict-affected people invisible to many. 'Life is very difficult at times, and we get by with a little farming and working in small businesses to try and find enough to eat. We worry about the future of our children. They need to go to school. We have been forgotten here in Cameroon and it's very difficult for us to even think about the future of our families," said Djeinabou, 32, a refugee from the Central African Republic living in Cameroon. "The world cannot plead ignorance when it comes to overlooking crises that feature in this report. Each year we warn that things will get worse, and each year that warning becomes a reality. This year I fear that more than ever. With aid budgets being slashed it is down to each and every one of us to stand up and tell global, regional and national politicians to change course, that we will not stand by and let those forced to flee be left behind. What we do this year will be remembered,' said Egeland. Facts and figures: Each year, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) publishes a list of the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world. The purpose is to focus on the plight of people whose suffering rarely makes international headlines, who receive no or inadequate assistance, and who rarely become the centre of attention for international diplomacy efforts. The report is available here. The neglected displacement crises list for 2024 analyses 34 displacement crises based on three criteria: lack of funding, lack of media attention, and lack of effective international political and diplomatic initiatives. Full details of the methodology can be found here. The full list in order this year is: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, Iran, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, and lastly Somalia. Cameroon ranked 2nd in 2023, 7th in 2022, 3rd in 2021, 2nd in 2020 and topped the list in 2019 and 2018. Ethiopia last featured on the list in 2021 when it ranked 10th. Mozambique appears on this list for the first time. Burkina Faso has appeared on this list for the previous six years. It ranked 1st in 2023 and 2022, 2nd in 2021, 7th in 2020, and 3rd in 2019. DR Congo topped the list three times (2021, 2020 and 2017). It ranked 2nd on the list in 2022, 2019, 2018 and 2016. It ranked 3rd in 2023. The 2024 humanitarian response plan for Cameroon was 45% funded with USD 168.2 million of the USD 371 million required meaning the funding gap was USD 202.8m [data pulled March 2025] (OCHA). Globally in 2024, USD 24.2 billion in funding was received against a total of USD 49.5 billion in requirements. This left a global funding gap of USD 25.3 billion (51.1%) [data pulled March 2025] (OCHA). Total military spending for 2024 was USD 2.46 trillion – equal to USD 6.74 billion per day. With the global humanitarian funding gap at USD 25.29 billion, this is equal to 3.7 days, or 1.03%, of global miliary spending in 2024 (IISS). The displacement crisis in Cameroon was mentioned in 28,800 articles in English, Spanish, French and Arabic in 2024. This is 15 times fewer than the crisis in Ukraine which was mentioned in 451,000 articles (Meltwater). Many major donors are cutting foreign aid budgets, which include both humanitarian and development funding. In January, the United States (US) suspended ongoing aid projects to conduct a foreign assistance review, forcing the majority of US-funded humanitarian work to be put on hold or, eventually, to cease (Devex). In February, the United Kingdom announced it would be cutting Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income (UK Government). In February, the Dutch government also announced a EUR 2.4 billion cut in development aid from 2027 (Government of the Netherlands). The French government announced it would reduce public development assistance by more than EUR 2 billion – close to 40% of its annual funding (RFI). Swiss, Swedish, German and Belgian governments have also announced cuts in aid assistance budgets (Devex, Devex, SwissInfo, Development Today). Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
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. phy/jll/rlp
Time Magazine
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
One Dead and 48 Injured After Gunfire at New Gaza Aid Hub
At least one Palestinian was killed and 48 others wounded while collecting aid from a distribution hub in Rafah, Gaza's Health Ministry said Wednesday. Crowds of Palestinians had broken through chain fences on Tuesday where thousands massed in an attempt to reach aid distributed under a controversial new U.S. and Israeli-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Adjith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, said it appeared that the casualties were a result of Israeli gunfire. An Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, the news agency reported. The Israel Defense Forces have not yet responded to TIME's request for comment. Israel has said it helped set up GHF to stop Hamas from stealing aid, but has provided no evidence of the systematic siphoning of aid. The U.N. and other agencies have rejected GHF's aid distribution system, which uses U.S. security contractors, as unethical and unworkable. 'We warned against the militarized & politicized aid hubs that today ended in chaos and aid stolen & diverted from families in need. This fiasco could have been averted if our normal humanitarian system had not been blocked for months by Israel,' Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, wrote on X. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday 'there was some loss of control momentarily' at the GHF distribution hub but that 'happily, we brought it under control.' Food security experts and aid groups have warned of an 'imminent risk of famine' since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 2 and launched a total blockade of Gaza. Israel said the measures were to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza. A statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu's office on May 19 said Israel would ease the blockade and let in a 'basic' amount of food to Gaza. The statement came hours after the IDF began a major ground offensive dubbed Gideon's Chariots that would 'take control of all areas' of the Strip. On Sunday, the head of GHF, Jake Wood, stepped down citing concerns over the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality and urged Israel to allow more aid into the Strip. The resignation came a day before GHF was due to begin distribution. In a statement on Wednesday, the head of the U.N.'s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jonathan Whittall, said that the 'new distribution model cannot possibly meet Gaza's needs.' GHF said on Sunday that 1 million Palestinians, just under half of those living in Gaza, would be given supplies by the end of the week. Amid a lack of access to food and supplies, Israel has issued displacement orders as part of the expanded ground offensive. OCHA said Tuesday that an estimated 632,000 people have been displaced since Operation Gideon's Chariots began earlier this month.
Days of Palestine
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israeli Occupation Accelerates Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza
DaysofPal- The Israeli occupation has introduced a new strategy for Gaza that experts say could escalate ethnic cleansing and contribute to acts of genocide. According to analysts cited by Al Jazeera, the Israeli far-right government has approved a plan aimed at restructuring Gaza's population and forcibly displacing its residents. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the initiative as part of efforts to eliminate Hamas and rescue approximately 24 Israeli prisoners captured on October 7, 2023. He justified the campaign in Gaza as a necessary operation, adding that population relocation would be part of efforts to 'protect' civilians. What does the plan involve? The plan entails the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza into six designated camps. The Israeli occupation claims that food will be supplied in these encampments, with aid distribution handled by humanitarian groups and private security firms. However, residents will be compelled to relocate under threat of starvation. Reports from The Washington Post indicate that each camp will house between 5,000 and 6,000 families. Each family will have to send someone to walk long distances weekly to collect food packages from what Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council referred to as 'concentration hubs.' Shortlink for this post:
Dubai Eye
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Aid agencies slam Israeli plans for Gaza aid distribution
Aid agencies have criticised Israeli plans to take over distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and use private companies to get food to families after two months in which the military has prevented supplies from entering the region. Israel has provided few details about its plans, announced on Monday as part of an expanded operation that it says could include seizing the entire Gaza Strip. For the moment, the blockade will continue until a large-scale evacuation of the population from northern and central areas to the south, where there will be a specially designated area cleared near the southern city of Rafah, Israeli officials have said. They said those entering the zone will be vetted by Israeli forces to ensure that supplies do not reach Hamas, with what aid agencies have described as special "hubs" to handle distribution. Israel has already cleared around a third of the territory to create "security zones" and the aid plan, combined with plans for moving much of the population to the south, has reinforced fears that the overall intention is full occupation. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said on Tuesday the plan was "the opposite of what is needed" and other agencies also questioned the plan, which they have only been briefed on verbally, according to two aid officials. "It is totally wrong that a party to the conflict – in this case Israel - should be in control of lifesaving aid for civilians," Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council said on the social media platform X. "This new Israeli aid plan is both totally insufficient to meet the needs in Gaza, and a complete breach of all humanitarian principles," he said. COMPLEXITY OF DISTRIBUTION Aid officials have frequently accused Israel of deliberately disregarding the complexity of aid distribution in an environment such as Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of a war that has destroyed much of its infrastructure and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population several times. They say the latest plans appear to echo previous Israeli ones for "humanitarian bubbles" or "civilian islands" that were rejected earlier in the war. Israel has accused agencies including the United Nations of allowing large quantities of aid to fall into the hands of Hamas, which it accuses of seizing supplies intended for civilians and using them for its own forces. "If Hamas continues to steal the aid from the people as well as earning money from it, the war will continue forever," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement. The government has said that cutting off aid is the best way to pressure Hamas to release 59 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, aid agencies say the plan would mean stripping vital protection from aid deliveries and effectively compel a transfer of civilians from the north to the south, contributing to conditions that could lead to their being forced out of Gaza permanently.
