Nearly 29 million people across six Sahel countries are projected to require urgent humanitarian aid and protection in 2025, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its latest regional overview.
OCHA estimates that $4.3 billion is needed to assist 18.4 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria – countries deeply affected by overlapping crises, including armed conflict, insecurity, mass displacement, and the worsening impacts of climate change.
OCHA’s Regional Chief for West and Central Africa, Charles Bernimolin, warned that millions of vulnerable women, men, and children are in emergency situations, adding that without adequate funding, lives will be lost.
Violence across the region continues to escalate, with over 16,800 people killed in 2024 alone. Displacement figures have also soared, with 2.1 million refugees and 5.9 million internally displaced persons, marking a significant increase compared to the previous year.
The crisis has spilled beyond the Sahel, with more than 328,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered in neighbouring countries such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Mauritania.
Essential services are buckling under pressure. Currently, 9,900 schools and 922 health centres remain closed. Between June and August, 12.8 million people are expected to face food insecurity, while 2.6 million children may suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Despite the severity of the crisis, the humanitarian response remains dangerously underfunded—only 8% of the required funds had been secured by the end of May.
