“While the majority of displaced individuals in the region remain within their own countries, cross-border movements are becoming increasingly common, placing considerable strain on host communities and national systems,” stated Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, Director of the UNHCR‘s Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa, during a press briefing.

These ongoing population movements coincide with significant challenges in both humanitarian access and funding. The Sahel is experiencing a sharp rise in humanitarian needs, yet resources have dramatically dwindled since 2022, exacerbating the already dire situation.

Budgetary Shortfalls Impact Vital Services

The UNHCR is urging a renewed and strengthened international commitment to address the escalating crisis in the central Sahel. The nations within the region are simply unable to tackle these immense challenges alone. For the current year, the agency has received less than one-third of its requested $409 million funding appeal.

Crucial activities such as refugee registration, documentation, education, healthcare, and shelter provisions have been severely compromised. “Over 212,000 refugees and asylum-seekers across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger remain unregistered, which severely restricts their access to essential services and heightens their vulnerability to arbitrary detention and harassment,” Mr. Gnon-Konde further elaborated.

These significant budget cuts are occurring amidst relentless violence perpetrated by jihadist groups. The pervasive insecurity across the entire region leaves populations exposed to violence, forced recruitment, restrictions on movement, and arbitrary detention, compounding their suffering.

Women and children constitute a staggering 80% of the forcibly displaced individuals in the region, and gender-based violence remains a profound and widespread concern. “According to the inter-agency protection monitoring system for West and Central Africa, the number of people affected by such incidents has substantially increased this year,” highlighting the growing risks faced by vulnerable groups.

Thousands of Schools Forced to Close

Within this volatile security environment, more than 900 health facilities have also been compelled to cease operations, depriving millions of people of critical medical care. Region-wide, over 14,800 schools had closed their doors by mid-2025, denying three million children access to education and safe learning environments. This precarious situation further exposes “forcibly displaced youth to forced recruitment and human trafficking,” underscoring the long-term consequences of the crisis.

Furthermore, food insecurity has emerged as an increasingly significant driver of displacement; the proportion of displaced individuals and host community members citing it as a cause for their movement has doubled in recent years.

According to the UNHCR, climate-related shocks further amplify these risks. They intensify competition for scarce natural resources like land and water, creating additional obstacles to peaceful coexistence and social cohesion within and between host communities and displaced populations.