Cameroon Named World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crisis in NRC 2025 Report

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) today released its annual report on the world’s ten most neglected displacement crises, with Cameroon ranking first for the first time in seven years. The report evaluates crises based on three core criteria: insufficient humanitarian funding, limited media attention, and lack of international political engagement.

Cameroon Faces Triple Humanitarian Crisis

Cameroon is caught up with three overlapping and prolonged crises: the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North, ongoing armed conflict in the Anglophone North West and South West regions, and spillover violence from the Central African Republic. These combined challenges have therefore, displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

In the report, the NRC identifies Cameroon as a “prime example of global neglect,” pointing to a “critical lack of diplomacy, humanitarian funding, and international media coverage.” In 2024, humanitarian assistance for each person in need in Cameroon amounted to roughly $1 per week.

Chronic Underfunding and Dwindling Donor Support

In 2024, only 45% of Cameroon’s humanitarian response plan received funding. Out of the $371 million USD (approx. €327.5 million) needed, the total received stands at $168.2 million USD (approx. €148.5 million), resulting in a gap of over $202 million USD.

This trend reflects a wider global shortfall. Humanitarian funding in 2024 amounted to $24.2 billion USD (approx. €21.4 billion), only 49% of the $49.5 billion USD (approx. €43.7 billion) required. According to the NRC, this global funding deficit of $25.3 billion USD is equivalent to just 1% of the world’s total military spending in 2024, which stood at $2.46 trillion USD (approx. €2.33 trillion).

“The year 2024 has been a year of disruption,” the NRC states. “International solidarity is increasingly being replaced by inward-looking and nationalist policies, even in formerly generous donor countries. Cuts in financial support have worsened the neglect of crises and displaced people. These crises must be protected from further funding cuts to prevent additional suffering.”

The NRC report further notes: “Countries that host the largest numbers of displaced people often receive the least support. They are left to cope with growing needs on their own as the international community continues to withdraw.”

Media Inattention Amplifies Invisibility

Despite the scale, duration, and severity of the humanitarian crises in Cameroon, international media coverage remains strikingly limited. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council’s 2025 report, Cameroon was mentioned in only 28,800 news articles across four major languages—English, French, Spanish, and Arabic—in all of 2024. This figure stands in sharp contrast to the 451,000 articles published about the crisis in Ukraine during the same period, highlighting a vast disparity in global media priorities.

This lack of coverage serves as one of the three key criteria the NRC uses to assess neglect and significantly impacts humanitarian response efforts. Without sustained media attention, public awareness stays low, leading to political inaction and donor fatigue.

“When a crisis is not covered in the media, it becomes invisible to the public, to policymakers, and even to potential donors,” the report notes. “As a result, affected communities are left to suffer in silence, far from the global spotlight.”

The limited visibility of Cameroon’s displacement crisis therefore, means fewer advocacy campaigns, reduced funding appeals, and diminished diplomatic pressure to resolve underlying conflicts. Aid agencies struggle to mobilise resources, and governments often deprioritize neglected regions in foreign policy discussions.

The NRC warns that this systemic media gap is not unique to Cameroon. Many African nations consistently rank low in international coverage metrics despite hosting large displaced populations and facing persistent insecurity. This media vacuum reinforces a cycle where underreported crises continue to receive inadequate global attention and funding.

Human Impact: Voices from the Displaced

Djeinabou, a 32-year-old refugee from the Central African Republic now residing in Cameroon, shared her experience: “Life is very hard, and we try to get by with some farming and small jobs to have enough to eat. We worry about our children’s future. They must go to school. Here in Cameroon, we are forgotten, and it’s hard even to think about our families’ future.”

Global Aid Commitments in Decline

The report further outlines significant reductions in development and humanitarian aid by several major donor countries in recent years:

• The United States halted many foreign assistance programs in early 2025.
• The United Kingdom reduced its Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income.
• The Netherlands announced €2.4 billion in development aid cuts starting in 2027.
• France cut over €2 billion from its aid budget, nearly 40% of its annual allocation.
• Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium also announced similar reductions.

Jan Egeland, NRC Secretary General, explained what this meant.

“The world cannot plead ignorance when it comes to the crises outlined in this report. Every year, we warn that the situation will worsen — and every year, our warning comes true,” he said adding “This year, I fear it more than ever. With aid budgets being slashed, it is up to each and every one of us to rise up and tell politicians at the global, regional, and national levels that they must change course. We will not stand by as displaced people are left behind. What we do this year will be remembered.”

The 2024 List of Most Neglected Displacement Crises

Following Cameroon, the remaining countries on the NRC’s list are:

2. Ethiopia
3. Mozambique
4. Burkina Faso
5. Mali
6. Uganda
7. Iran
8. Democratic Republic of the Congo
9. Honduras
10. Somalia

Mozambique appears on the list for the first time, while Ethiopia climbs to its highest-ever position. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, however, which was frequently in the top three in previous years, ranks eighth in 2024.

“These rankings do not reflect improvements,” the report cautions. “Rather, they signal a broader pattern of neglect across nearly all long-term displacement crises.”

Egeland further said: “It is vital that we do not accept the withdrawal of aid funding as inevitable. Displacement is not a remote crisis—it is a shared responsibility. Without effective conflict resolution, disaster prevention, and diplomatic engagement, these crises will persist. More people will be displaced, and more lives destroyed.”

Mimi Mefo Info