Africa
THE United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says about 24 million people across the Sahel region are in need of humanitarian assistance as violence, displacement and climate-related shocks continue to worsen conditions.
The UN Spokesperson, Mr Stephane Dujarric, said this on Wednesday at a news briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Dujarric said the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview warned that the crisis was deepening across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria.
According to him, violence continues to spread as armed groups expand their operations across the Central Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.
“Communities are being uprooted, while schools and health centres are being forced to close.
“Climate shocks are compounding the suffering. The Sahel is warming faster than the global average.
“In 2025 alone, devastating floods affected 590,000 people, while droughts and desertification destroyed farmland on which millions depend for their livelihoods.
“We and our humanitarian partners are exploring new ways to expand cash assistance, strengthen anticipatory action and provide greater support to local organisations,” he said.
Dujarric said the humanitarian response in the Sahel received its lowest level of funding in a decade in 2025, with only 29 per cent of the required resources secured.
“As needs rise, the humanitarian community urgently requires flexible and predictable funding to sustain life-saving operations across the region,” he said.
In a related development, Dujarric announced that 2.5 million dollars had been allocated from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help communities prepare for and mitigate the impact of severe drought in Mauritania.
He said the funding would enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and their partners to provide immediate support to about 120,000 people ahead of projected severe drought conditions.
According to him, the intervention includes the dissemination of early warning information, provision of drought-resistant seeds, cash assistance and livestock feed, as well as measures to prevent malnutrition among children.
“This funding is being released ahead of the drought so we and our partners can act before its worst impacts are felt,” he said. (NAN)
F.O
Tags: Humanitarian Support UN