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The latest ranking places the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the most neglected country on the list for the second consecutive year, followed by Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and South Sudan. The remaining countries in the top ten of the list are Chad, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Burundi and Ethiopia.
For the first time, all ten top-ranking countries with displacement crises are in the African continent. Norwegian Refugee Council annually brings out a ranking report of countries where people’s suffering from displacement and conflict is internationally neglected. The latest ranking places the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the most neglected country on the list for the second consecutive year, followed by Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and South Sudan. The remaining countries in the top ten of the list are Chad, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Burundi, and Ethiopia.
Launching the report on June 5th, Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the aid organization, said that DRC has become a textbook example of neglect.The report revealed that about 5.5 million people were internally displaced in DRC in 2021 due to inter-communal tension and conflict. Another 1 million have fled to neighboring countries. Fleeing from home countries exposes people to starvation, violence, and loss of education for children.
The annual ranking aims to throw light on the plight of people who receive no or only inadequate assistance and gets no global attention. The report states that international media outlets rarely cover the countries on the list except for ad-hoc reporting on major new outbreaks of violence or disease.
Lack of press freedom also is a challenge that makes it difficult for local media to cover the conflicts and the resulting displacements. For instance, out of the top 10 neglected crises list, Sudan and Nigeria, are also at the bottom of international press freedom rankings. Burkina Faso which ranks relatively better in terms of media freedom did not allow, journalists from accessing displacement sites in the West African country, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council report.It points out that Burkina Faso which faced massive displacement due to a surge in jihadi-linked violence received less than half of what was needed from international funding.
In contrast, the Ukraine war manifested how the international community can rally behind a crisis, while daily millions in Africa suffer in silence while the world looks the other way. Egeland said that this highlights a vicious cycle of international political neglect, limited media coverage, donor fatigue, and ever-deepening humanitarian needs.
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