By 2026, an alarming estimate of over 42 million individuals will require life-sustaining and safety assistance in countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad.

Charles Bernimolin, who leads the Regional Office for West and Central Africa at OCHA, issued a stark warning: “Without immediate financial support, families across West and Central Africa will face escalating hunger, further displacement, and heightened protection risks, leading to intensified suffering.”

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the region is grappling with a deepening humanitarian crisis impacting millions. Persistent violence, ongoing conflicts, and severe environmental catastrophes continue to force families from their homes and erode their ability to meet basic necessities.

Spreading Insecurity in the Central Sahel and Lake Chad Basin

The volatile security situation in the Central Sahel region, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, is increasingly spilling over into neighboring nations such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Mauritania. Concurrently, the instability in the Lake Chad Basin and the conflict in Sudan are compelling even more people to seek refuge.

Millions remain displaced throughout the region, with figures indicating 12.7 million internally displaced persons and 3.7 million refugees and asylum seekers. The majority of these are women and children, frequently forced into multiple displacements and exposed to elevated dangers, including gender-based violence and exploitation, with reported incidents of rape and survival sex.

As violence expands, climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities. In 2025, torrential rains and widespread flooding impacted over 2 million people across 12 countries, decimating crops, damaging homes, and cutting off access to vital schools and health facilities. The Democratic Republic of Congo was particularly hard-hit, with more than 830,000 individuals affected.

The Devastating Consequences of Funding Shortfalls

In the Central African Republic, the number of people receiving cash assistance plummeted by 75%

OCHA highlights that despite the generosity of donors in 2025, humanitarian operations in the region faced a severe funding gap: only $1.8 billion was received against a requirement of $7.8 billion, representing a mere 24% of the needed funds.

These significant funding deficits compelled humanitarian organizations to scale back their responses and make agonizing decisions about which intervention areas and the most vulnerable communities could receive support.

Such cutbacks have led to dire consequences. In the Central African Republic, for instance, the number of individuals benefiting from cash assistance dropped by 75%, severely limiting their ability to address urgent needs. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflict has triggered new waves of massive displacement, 85% of those targeted for shelter aid received no support whatsoever.

Despite these profound challenges and funding constraints, humanitarian partners remain committed to addressing priority needs across West and Central Africa.

By the close of 2025, aid workers had delivered at least one form of assistance to 19 million people in this region. However, humanitarian agencies emphasized, “the persistent lack of funding prevented us from reaching millions of others.”