UNICEF appeals for $1.89 billion to provide life-saving food supplies, clean water, education and child protection services, among others
DAKAR, 22 December 2023 – 46.7 million children are forecast to face another year of humanitarian need in West and Central Africa, mainly due to ongoing conflict and insecurity, including in the central Sahel region and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and mass displacement of women and children in Chad from Sudan.
UNICEF in the region is urgently appealing for $1.89 billion in its 2024 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal, which would help reach an estimated 24.1 million children, up from 23.5 million in 2023 .
“West and Central Africa is home to a large number of underfunded emergencies and some of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises for children,” said UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Felicité Tchibindat. “Children do not cause conflicts, but they are powerless to stop them. We must do more to build a lasting solution for local children and give them hope as they grow up amid chronic and forgotten crises.”
More than a third of the funding requirement in 2024 is to address malnutrition in the region, and the prevalence of wasting in children under five remains high. Sahel countries are the hardest hit, with several areas of Burkina Faso, Mali and north-west Nigeria experiencing extreme child wasting levels of over 15%. In the year to the end of October 2023, 1.9 million children under the age of five were admitted for severe wasting treatment in nine Sahel countries, representing a 20 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022. This is partly due to an increase in coverage of child wasting treatment services, made possible with funding from donor partners.
Lack of funding remains a major obstacle to the humanitarian response in the region, with UNICEF’s two most underfunded appeals worldwide originating from the region. The 2023 appeal for humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso ($227 million) was only 11 percent funded, while the $862 million 2023 appeal for the Democratic Republic of Congo was only 13 percent funded.
Some of the humanitarian emergencies in the region include:
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The people of Burkina Faso continue to experience a multidimensional humanitarian crisis that has worsened since 2019. More than 2 million people are internally displaced. A de facto blockade by armed groups of areas where more than 1 million people live or have sought refuge has deprived people of free movement and essential supplies.
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In Cameroon, 4.7 million people (including 2.5 million children) are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to complex and multifaceted crises: armed conflicts causing internal and cross-border displacement, inter-communal violence, disease outbreaks (including cholera and measles) and seasonal floods.
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Violence, displacement and natural disasters continue to weigh heavily on the children of the Central African Republic. Despite the reduction in insecurity and conflict-related violence, 2.8 million people (nearly half the country’s population) will need humanitarian assistance in 2024. This includes 1.3 million children.
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Among the recent crises in Chad has been the large influx of Sudanese refugees and returnees from Chad since April 2023. Chad hosts about half of the refugees in West and Central Africa (1 million out of 2.2 million). Prolonged and rapid-onset multidimensional crises, exacerbated by climate change, have created a difficult humanitarian situation for the people of Chad, and 7.6 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to the highest number of UN-verified serious violations against children worldwide and one of the highest numbers of internally displaced people. Escalating armed conflict in the country is severely affecting 14.9 million children, who are harmed by recurrent disease outbreaks, endemic sexual violence and increasing access restrictions – all exacerbating vulnerability and increasing child mortality. Increased military operations in 2024, along with hostilities expected after the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, will increase the risks to children.
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Mali is facing unprecedented and growing humanitarian needs. An estimated 8.8 million people, over 40 percent of the population, are expected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024. The departure of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is expected to be completed by 31 December 2023. and this affected the dynamics of the conflicts and resulted in new hostilities.
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Niger continues to face a combination of crises: persistent armed conflict, climate-induced disasters, food emergencies and epidemics, which have been exacerbated by political instability following a military coup in late July 2023. In 2024, it is estimated that 4.3 million people, including 2.4 million children, will need humanitarian assistance.
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Armed conflict in north-east Nigeria continues to adversely affect the lives and prospects of 7.7 million people, 60% of whom are children. In addition, 474,000 people in the northwest of the country and 489,000 in Benue state have been displaced by armed violence, including farmer-herdsmen violence.
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In four West African coastal countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo), children and adolescents in the northern regions face the humanitarian consequences, including population displacement, of the spillover of the Sahel crisis. In these four coastal countries, the number of internally displaced persons, returnees and refugees is now estimated at 123,000, including 36,000 children. These numbers could rise given the political and conflict dynamics in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Through the 2024 West and Central Africa Appeal, UNICEF aims to reach:
- 6.1 million children with measles vaccines
- 3.5 million children 6-59 months treated for severe wasting
- 5.6 million people with safe and accessible channels to report sexual exploitation and abuse by staff providing assistance to affected populations
- 5.8 million people have access to sufficient quantity and quality of water for drinking and domestic needs
- 266,500 households with humanitarian aid funding from UNICEF
With increasing insecurity and threats to humanitarian workers in the region, UNICEF is working through a large number of local actors who are critical to negotiating access and promoting acceptance of aid between the affected population and humanitarian responders.
For more information on the HAC appeal, visit
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For more information, please contact: John James, Communication Specialist, UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office, Tel: +221 78 638 0252, Email: jjames@unicef.org