Sahel 2026 Humanitarian Needs & Requirements Overview (May 2026) [EN/FR]

Foreword

There is no single crisis in the Sahel.

What we are witnessing is the accumulation of multiple, overlapping shocks—conflict, displacement, climate extremes and economic fragility—that together are affecting millions of people across the region. These pressures are growing, spreading across borders, and becoming harder to contain.

Today, more than 24 million people across the Sahel require humanitarian assistance and protection. This shows the scale of disruption affecting people’s lives and livelihoods. Across the Central Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, violence continues to force people from their homes and limit access to basic services. At the same time, insecurity is gradually extending into coastal countries, underscoring the regional dimension of the crisis.

Communities that were already vulnerable are now facing repeated shocks, with fewer resources to cope.
Through my engagement across the region, I have seen how these crises affect people, families displaced multiple times, children unable to attend school, and many doing their best to get by with very limited means.

Climate change is accelerating this dynamic. In the Sahel, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, rainfall has become more erratic and extreme events more frequent. Floods, droughts and environmental degradation are compounding pressures that erode resilience over time and deepen humanitarian needs.

In this context, millions of people are expected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season.
This situation risks being further exacerbated by the spillover effects of the Middle East crisis, which are increasingly being felt across the region, which is particularly sensitive to global shocks.

In the Sahel, basic services are under strain, protection risks are increasing, and displacement continues to place pressure on host communities.

Humanitarian actors continue to respond across the region, delivering assistance in some of the most complex and constrained environments and hard-toreach areas in the world. This work is made possible through the sustained efforts of local communities, national and international organizations, governments, and the continued support of donors.

Yet the gap between needs and resources is widening. The sharp decline in humanitarian funding in 2025 has had direct consequences on the scale and reach of the response, forcing partners to reduce activities, limit their presence in some areas, and focus on the most critical life-saving interventions.

This situation requires us to adapt how we work. Across the Sahel, humanitarian actors are implementing a Humanitarian Reset: refocusing on the most urgent needs, simplifying the response, and making sure limited resources have the greatest possible impact.

This means making difficult choices, improving efficiency, and bringing decision-making closer to affected communities. It also includes acting earlier through anticipatory action, expanding cash assistance, and strengthening support to national and local organizations, who play a key role in reaching people, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

At the same time, humanitarian action alone cannot keep pace with the scale and complexity of the crisis.
Addressing the challenges facing the Sahel will require sustained political engagement, investment in resilience and basic services, and a collective commitment to protecting civilians and upholding international humanitarian law.

This document sets out the scale of needs and the priorities for the response in 2026. But beyond the numbers, it is a reminder of what is at stake.

The Sahel is not defined by crisis alone. It is defined by the resilience of its people, and by our shared responsibility to ensure that this resilience is supported, not exhausted.

Charles Bernimolin

Head of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa—United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs