Nearly four million people uprooted in the central Sahel
The number forced from their homes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has more than doubled in six years. The UN refugee agency has a quarter of the money it needs.
Geneva — Nearly four million people have been forced from their homes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the United Nations refugee agency says, according to Radio France Internationale.
That is more than double the number six years ago. In 2020 the three countries had just over 1.7 million people displaced inside their borders and 365,000 refugees. Today the figure includes 818,000 refugees and asylum seekers.
The agency, UNHCR, says the crisis is being driven by "continued attacks affecting civilians, climate-related shocks and severe humanitarian funding shortfalls".
'Attention is receding'
"Unfortunately, the international attention is receding," said Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, the agency's regional director, after a visit to the region.
He said instability was putting more pressure on asylum systems in countries whose public services are already weak. That pushes more families to move, erodes their livelihoods and limits their chances of rebuilding.
One town
The strain shows in Koro, in Mali's Bandiagara region near the border. In July it was hosting about 86,000 refugees from Burkina Faso, more than 14,000 of them children. The refugees are now almost as numerous as the local population, with land, water and health services stretched.
Spreading south
Hundreds of thousands of people have also moved into the coastal states of Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo.
By September the agency had received 27% of the funding it needs for its work in the Sahel.
This report is based on reporting by Radio France Internationale, published by AllAfrica.
