Sahel Displacement Crisis Deepens as Insecurity and Climate Shocks Uproot 4 Million

The humanitarian crisis in the central Sahel region — spanning Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and neighbouring countries — has reached alarming proportions, with nearly 4 million people forcibly displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This represents an increase of nearly two-thirds compared to five years ago, reflecting the devastating combination of insecurity, climate change, economic hardship, and dwindling access to essential services.

Rising Displacement Across Borders

While most of the displaced remain within their home countries, cross-border movements are growing, as families flee escalating violence and deteriorating living conditions. This has placed additional strain on host communities, which are already grappling with scarce resources and fragile local economies.

UNHCR warns that the growing trend of onward movements underscores the urgent need to expand humanitarian assistance and strengthen resilience at the community level, so that displaced people can remain closer to their homes and avoid dangerous migration routes across deserts or towards the Mediterranean.

“The Sahel is at a tipping point,” UNHCR officials cautioned. “Without adequate support, millions risk being trapped between conflict, hunger, and climate disasters, with shrinking options for survival.”

Humanitarian Crisis in Numbers

The human toll of the crisis is staggering:

• 4 million people are now displaced across the central Sahel.

• Women and children make up 80 per cent of the displaced population.

• Over 14,800 schools have closed, leaving 3 million children out of school.

• More than 900 health facilities have shut down, depriving millions of healthcare.

• 212,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger remain unregistered, unable to access services or legal protection.

The UNHCR’s 2025 humanitarian appeal for the Sahel stands at $409.7 million, yet only 32 per cent of this has been funded. The agency warns that critical operations — including registration, documentation, shelter, education, and health services — are being severely curtailed as a result.

Insecurity and Violence Drive Mass Displacement

Persistent insecurity remains the primary driver of displacement. Armed groups and criminal networks have expanded across northern and central Mali, eastern Burkina Faso, and western Niger, where civilians face targeted violence, forced recruitment, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on movement.

Communities are caught between multiple armed actors, while state presence and services continue to erode. Many families have been displaced multiple times as shifting frontlines force them to relocate repeatedly, often to areas with no infrastructure or aid access.

Women and Children: The Faces of the Crisis

Women and children bear the brunt of this instability. UNHCR’s inter-agency protection monitoring system has documented a sharp rise in gender-based violence (GBV), including sexual assault, forced marriage, and trafficking. Many displaced women, now widowed or separated from their families, face additional threats of exploitation while struggling to provide for their children.

With schools closed and livelihoods destroyed, children face growing risks of recruitment by armed groups, child labour, and early marriage. “Forcibly displaced youth in the Sahel are among the most vulnerable in the world,” UNHCR warned. “Without education and protection, an entire generation risks being lost.”

Food Insecurity and Climate Change Intensify Hardship

The climate crisis is compounding instability, worsening food insecurity and competition over scarce resources. Increasingly erratic rainfall, desertification, and droughts have destroyed crops and livestock, leaving millions hungry.

Food insecurity has emerged as both a cause and consequence of displacement — the share of displaced people citing lack of food as the primary reason for flight has doubled in recent years. Host communities, many already living on the margins, are struggling to absorb new arrivals, fueling tension over access to land, water, and pasture.

“Climate shocks in the Sahel have multiplied humanitarian needs and accelerated displacement,” said a UNHCR regional representative. “Communities that once lived together peacefully now compete for survival.”

Education and Health Systems on the Brink

The collapse of public infrastructure is deepening the humanitarian emergency. By mid-2025, 14,800 schools had closed due to insecurity, depriving 3 million children of learning opportunities and safe spaces. Many schools have been destroyed or occupied by armed groups, while teachers have fled.

The health system has been equally devastated, with 900 facilities shut down due to insecurity or lack of personnel and supplies. In conflict zones, pregnant women, children, and the elderly face enormous challenges accessing even basic medical care. Outbreaks of malnutrition, malaria, and cholera are spreading across displacement camps.

Resilience Amid Adversity

Despite these hardships, communities in the Sahel have shown remarkable resilience and solidarity. Local initiatives are emerging to support displaced populations, mediate conflicts, and sustain coexistence.

In Mali, UNHCR reports that 90 per cent of displaced people feel a strong sense of integration, thanks to local communities sharing land, resources, and livelihoods. In Burkina Faso, community-led conflict-resolution mechanisms are helping to reduce tensions between displaced and host populations.

These grassroots examples of solidarity, UNHCR says, demonstrate that hope remains alive in the Sahel — but they require greater international backing to endure.

Legal and Institutional Frameworks Exist — But Funding Does Not

All Sahel countries are parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and have adopted national asylum laws guaranteeing the right to work and freedom of movement. They have also ratified the African Union’s Kampala Convention on the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

However, the challenge lies in implementation and resource mobilization. National asylum systems are underfunded and overstretched, while humanitarian operations struggle to reach populations in need due to insecurity and funding shortfalls.

A Call for Global Solidarity

UNHCR is calling for renewed international engagement and investment to address the root causes of displacement and strengthen the resilience of affected communities. “The Sahel’s crisis is not just a regional problem — it’s a global responsibility,” the agency said.

Countries in the region, it added, cannot face these challenges alone. Protecting millions of displaced families and securing a safer future for the Sahel demands unified, sustained international action that bridges humanitarian response, development support, and peacebuilding efforts.

“The people of the Sahel have shown extraordinary courage in the face of unimaginable hardship,” UNHCR concluded. “Now the world must show them equal courage — through solidarity, sustained investment, and a commitment to peace.”