Sahel emergency

The central Sahel region, encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, is facing a severe humanitarian and protection crisis that has driven millions of people from their homes. The political, security, and economic situation, characterized by political instability, is only getting worse. 

While over half a million people have been forced to flee their countries as refugees, over 3.8 million people are internally displaced within their own countries. Restrictions on movement and economic challenges continue to exacerbate the fragilities of the overall resilience of populations. 

The region is also on the front lines of the climate crisis, with temperatures increasing at 1.5 times the global average. This is aggravating conflicts over scarce resources and making life harder for those already forced to flee. 

What is UNHCR doing to help?

In this challenging environment, UNHCR is working to meet the changing needs of displaced populations in a context of insecurity and constrained access,  while strengthening partnerships with national and local humanitarian actors, as well as with civil society organizations, who are often the first responders.

UNHCR is delivering a protection-centred response that includes registration, access to asylum, gender-based violence prevention, child protection, education, provision of documentation (including for those at risk of statelessness), and the provision of shelter and core relief items. 

In the context of climate change, environmental sustainability takes a central role in UNHCR's interventions via climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and the integration of climate into risk analysis and assessment.

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