The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is sounding the alarm on the increasing humanitarian needs of nearly 9 million people in West Africa who are currently displaced due to rising violence, insecurity, and extreme weather events. Many individuals have been displaced multiple times, worsening their situation. On World Refugee Day, the IRC emphasizes the urgent need for action to address the specific challenges posed by this compounded crisis of armed conflict and climate change.
Worldwide, the changing climate has worsened existing difficulties. Sixteen countries are facing the intersection of climate vulnerability and armed conflict, impacting 44% of those affected by natural disasters and 79% of those in need of humanitarian aid. One in four of these countries are in West Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. These communities often lack the resources to adapt or recover, bearing the brunt of displacement caused by climate change.
West African countries are particularly susceptible to sudden disasters like floods, in addition to ongoing issues such as land degradation, water scarcity, and coastal erosion, which have intensified due to climate change. In 2022, for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa, climate-related disasters caused nearly as many internal displacements as conflicts: in Nigeria, most internal displacements were due to disasters last year. The country faced its worst floods in a decade, resulting in 2.4 million people being displaced – the highest number of people displaced by disasters in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past ten years.
Modou Diaw, Regional Vice President for the IRC in West Africa, states:
“Conflict continues to drive displacement, but in recent decades, climate change has also significantly influenced migration decisions across West Africa. The overlap of conflict and climate disasters highlights the urgent need for comprehensive responses to address climate change, armed conflict, and to increase humanitarian aid and support for resilience and adaptation to climate change.
The IRC is focused on tackling the root causes of displacement by enhancing resilience to climate shocks and ensuring sustainable development to mitigate the crisis. Providing specialized support and protection services, including safety, well-being, and rights of displaced women and girls, access to violence prevention and response services, psychosocial support, and livelihood assistance are crucial steps in this process.”
Since 1991, the IRC has worked with local partners in West Africa to empower crisis-affected individuals to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC’s regional office for West Africa is located in Dakar, Senegal, and supports six country programs in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as well as a project-specific office in Monrovia, Liberia.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Rescue Committee (IRC).