1.3m people need aid in Cameroon

Ongoing conflict there flagged most neglected crisis in the world

A conflict that has forced half a million people from their homes in Cameroon has been flagged the world’s most neglected displacement crisis.

Aid workers on Wednesday added the country was edging towards full-blown war.

Hundreds of villages have been burned, hospitals have been attacked and nearly 800,000 children have seen their schools close, said the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which compiles the annual ranking.

“This culture of paralysis by the international community has to end,” said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the NRC, who recently visited the central African country.

“Every day the conflict is allowed to continue, bitterness is building and the region edges closer towards full-blown war.” The NRC analysed 36 crises in 2018 to produce its annual list, based on lack of funding, lack of media attention and political neglect. Most of the 10 most neglected were in Africa.

“Humanitarian assistance should be given based on needs, and needs alone,” said Egeland.

“However, every day millions of displaced people are neglected because they have been struck by the wrong crisis and the dollars have dried up.”

A record 68.5 million people were forced to flee their homes by the end of 2017, said the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in its latest global trends report.

Cameroon, where a conflict between armed groups and security forces in the south-west and north-west has left 1.3 million people in need of aid, scored highly on all three areas measured by the index.

It was followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Burundi, all of which have been affected by conflict.

Ukraine, at number five, was the only European country on this list, while Venezuela climbed to sixth place.

The final four countries in the top 10 were Mali, Libya, Ethiopia and Palestine.

Aid agencies are struggling to meet increasing needs worldwide while relying on limited funding, said Helen Thompson for the humanitarian organisation CARE International UK.

“Ultimately, humanitarian action alone cannot end humanitarian need,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“These crises require political solutions to put an end to conflict, allowing people to recover, rebuild their lives, and live in peace.”

Seven of the 10 most neglected conflicts are in African countries