Burkina Faso tops the list of the most neglected crisis in the World

According to the annual ranking published by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Thursday, Burkina Faso has been identified as one of the countries experiencing the “most neglected crisis in the world.”

It has topped the list due to ongoing extremist violence since 2015. The neglect of vulnerable populations has worsened as aid and attention have been redirected to other crises such as Ukraine.

The annual list of “neglected” population displacement crises takes into account three factors: lack of media attention, absence of international political will, and insufficient humanitarian funding.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has consistently been on the list since its inception seven years ago, is ranked second. Colombia, Sudan, and Venezuela follow in the ranking.

According to the NRC, Burkina Faso, which ranked second in the previous year, has witnessed over 14,000 fatalities in the past five years, with half of them occurring since January 2022. Additionally, more than two million people have been internally displaced.

Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the NRC, stated, “Neglect is a choice; that millions of displaced people are cast aside year after year without the support and resources they so desperately need is not inevitable.” He emphasized that in 2022, nearly one in four Burkinabè required humanitarian assistance due to increasing violence and displacement.

Egeland further highlighted that only 42% of the requested humanitarian financial aid was distributed in 2022.

The report also addresses the attacks on water stations by multiple armed groups, resulting in water deprivation for 830,000 individuals, as well as the closure of 6,200 schools, affecting over one million students.

Egeland stressed the need for political action and humanitarian aid to be provided to crises in places such as Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, similar to the response seen in Ukraine. He pointed out that the coverage of the Ukrainian displacement issue in newspapers exceeded the coverage of the top ten neglected crises combined.

The ranking places the Democratic Republic of the Congo second due to multiple crises, particularly in the eastern part of the country. Sudan and Venezuela rank ahead of Colombia, which has faced armed conflict for 60 years. The remaining top 10 nations include Burundi, Mali, Cameroon, El Salvador, and Ethiopia.

The NRC emphasizes the importance of providing humanitarian assistance based on the needs of affected populations rather than geopolitical interests or the level of media attention certain crises receive.