All 10 of the most underreported humanitarian crises in 2023 are in Africa, according to a new report from CARE International.
This year was marked by two major wars that captured the world's attention.
It began with Russian drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and ended with Deadly Israeli bombing From the Gaza Strip.
And in between – earthquakes, floods, capsized migrant boats, military coups in the Sahel, and the outbreak of brutal war. The ongoing conflict in Sudan The escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) captured global attention for a fleeting moment before the public moved on.
But some crises left little impact.
A new report from CARE International lists the world's under-covered humanitarian crises for the eighth year in a row, based on media analysis of news articles in English, Arabic, French, German and Spanish.
For the second year in a row, every country on the list is located on the African continent.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries on the list. Photo: AP
Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Senegal, Mauritania, Central African Republic, CameroonBurkina Faso, Uganda And Zimbabwe – all suffering in silence.
The country that tops the list AngolaThere are 7.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Angola tops the list
Landmines resulting from the decades-long civil war in the southwestern country from 1975 to 2002 injured more than 85,000 people and killed thousands, forcing them out of rural areas and into cities.
Droughts and flash floods have destroyed agricultural crops and economic development, leading to food insecurity and malnutrition.
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Despite this long-standing suffering, the report shows that Angola received only 1,049 media mentions in 2023 and compares this to 273,421 articles written about the new iPhone 15.
As the world looks elsewhere, climate change is entrenching already deep-rooted development issues on the continent.
Flash floods regularly affect Zambia. pic file
In number two, Zambia It has consistently been at the top of CARE's list of neglected crises plagued by increasingly severe cycles of flash floods and drought that have dried up the soil and pushed 1.35 million Zambians into food insecurity.
Now the worst looms in Zambia. The cholera outbreak has claimed at least 222 lives and is spreading rapidly.
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Hunger and neglect also plague Burundi, a small country in East Africa that suffers from one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world, as well as extreme poverty. Senegal.
Both countries have featured in news reports about the ongoing global migrant crisis, with 10 Burundian handball players fleeing the Under-19 World Cup in Croatia to seek asylum and immigration. Senegalese migrant boat capsizes Off the coast of Gambia on its way to Europe.
But there was little coverage of the adverse circumstances that forced these people out of their countries – Burundi and Senegal ranked third and fourth on the list.
“These slow-moving crises typically attract less media attention than sudden emergencies due to conflict or other disasters,” says Dr. Deepmala Mahla, Director of Global Humanitarian Affairs at CARE.
“We must not forget that hunger is mostly human-caused. Conflicts, economic shocks, extreme weather, poverty and inequality are the main drivers.
“To save lives, we need more attention and adequate funding for humanitarian aid. Last year, only 35% of the financial resources required for humanitarian aid were provided, which is certainly not enough.”
