The Norwegian Refugee Council NRC published a list of the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world. The countries with the most neglected crises according to the NRC are, in order: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso, Cameroon, South Sudan, Chad, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Burundi and Ethiopia.
The ranking for 2021 “testifies to the chronic failure of decision-makers, donors and the media to address the conflicts and human suffering on this continent“, lamented the secretary-general of the NGO, Jan Egeland, quoted in a communique.
While a large proportion of African countries are usually included (8 out of 10 in 2020), 2021 is the first year that “all ten are in Africa”, according to the report.
The report said 2021 saw three seperate crisis persist in Cameroon. In the two Anglophone regions, the report said growing insecurity and abuses against civilians forced people to flee in search of safety.
” Attacks on teachers, schools and health facilities continued, leaving 700,000 children unable to go to school.In the far North region,violence and attacks significantly hampered humanitarian efforts and access to people in need”
In the East region of the country ,there was an increase i the number of refugees from Central African Republic putting further pressure on local host communities as stated bythe report.
For the last four years, Cameroon has being ranged 3rd on this list due to consistent lack of political engagement and international attention.
Most international media outlets rarely cover conflicted countries beyond ad hoc reporting on new outbreaks of violence or disease, and in several African countries the lack of press freedom is exacerbating the situation. Then there’s donor fatigue, and the fact that many African countries are deemed to be of limited geopolitical interest.
The low level of funding limits the ability of humanitarian organisations both to provide adequate humanitarian relief and to do effective advocacy and communication work for these crises, creating a vicious circle.
The situation in 2022 shows little sign of let-up for the people of Cameroon, as voilence and insecurity persist. The detention of aid workers led to some organisations suspending their programmes,leaving even more people out of reach of aid.
With Europes Ukrain conflict, Africa might be pushed futher into shadows. The war in Ukrain has demonstrated the immense gap between what is possible when the international community rallies behind a crisis, and the daily reality for millions of people suffering in silence within crises on the African continent that the world has chosen to ignore.
