Cameroon has surpassed Burkina Faso as the most neglected humanitarian crisis in the world, according to a new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The Scandinavian NGO, which annually ranks overlooked crises based on humanitarian funding, media coverage, and international political attention, released the sobering assessment on Tuesday.
The NRC highlighted three prolonged and overlapping crises that have plagued Cameroon for over a decade: insurgent violence in the Lake Chad Basin, armed conflict in the anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions, and instability linked to conflict in neighboring Central African Republic. As of 2024, approximately 3.4 million people in Cameroon urgently need humanitarian assistance and protection.
“Cameroon’s crisis is a case study in global neglect: underreported and underfunded,” the NRC noted in its statement. The report revealed that over 1.1 million people are internally displaced within the country, while nearly half a million refugees and asylum seekers remain trapped in dire conditions.
Despite the urgent needs, international response has been lacking. Only 45 percent of the required humanitarian funding for Cameroon in 2024 has been provided. Media attention has been minimal, and political engagement by global powers remains weak.
Jan Egeland, NRC’s Secretary General, criticized the growing trend among traditionally generous donor nations to prioritize domestic agendas over international solidarity. “Across Europe, the United States, and elsewhere, we have seen donors turn their backs on people in their hour of need,” he said.
The situation is compounded by cuts in foreign aid. After assuming office, U.S. President Donald Trump froze foreign aid and dismantled USAID, which once managed nearly $43 billion annually accounting for 42 percent of global humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, several European nations have slashed aid budgets to boost military spending in response to perceived threats, particularly from Russia.
In addition to Cameroon, the NRC’s list of the 10 most neglected crises includes Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, and Somalia. Notably, eight of the ten countries are in Africa, underscoring a troubling trend of persistent global indifference toward the continent’s humanitarian challenges.
