Denmark as a Donor

In northern Angola, 300-500 refugees arrive on a daily basis fleeing violent attacks in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The conflict has so far displaced 1.3 million civilians, with over 30,000 Congolese arriving in desperate conditions to find refuge in neighbouring Angola.

UNHCR has released USD 2 million from Denmark’s Emergency Reserve Fund to provide immediate help to people who have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq and Burundi. The grants from this fund will provide men, women and children who have abandoned everything with access to basic services and core relief items.

In 2015, the Lake Chad basin region witnessed increasing waves of violence followed by massive displacement. The Boko Haram group expanded its insurgency from north-eastern Nigeria to neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, killing civilians and uprooting more than 2.7 million people. Since mid-march 2016, the situation in Niger has deteriorated significantly, leading to further displacements and urgent protection and humanitarian needs.

UNHCR’s annual meeting of its executive committee, bringing together 140 states, came to a close Friday 9 October. Much attention was focused on the Afghan situation, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria leading to refugees arriving in the thousands in Europe. However, the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, also urged donor countries not to forget the needs of the millions of people displaced from protracted crises creating refugee emergencies in several regions of Africa.