The European Commission has unveiled €235 million (around $256 million) in fresh humanitarian aid for West and Central Africa, as escalating conflict, rising food insecurity, and worsening climate impacts continue to increase the region’s needs.
The package is designed to deliver emergency food support, healthcare and nutrition services, protection programmes, shelter, clean water and sanitation, as well as education in emergency settings for displaced populations, host communities, and people living in hard-to-reach locations.
A major portion of the funding is earmarked for the Central Sahel, which will receive €75 million (approximately $82 million). The area, where more than 12.4 million people currently require humanitarian assistance, is experiencing intensifying insecurity and large-scale displacement.
EU assistance in this sub-region will focus on life-saving support, including food relief, medical care, nutrition services, emergency schooling, and logistics and preparedness efforts to strengthen humanitarian response operations.
Cameroon has been allocated €16.6 million (about $18.1 million) to assist close to 3 million people in need, among them 2.2 million displaced individuals. The support will go toward food security, healthcare, nutrition, protection services, and improved access to water and sanitation.
The Central African Republic is set to receive €22 million (roughly $24 million) to fund integrated assistance covering food aid, livelihood support, emergency education, healthcare, and protection services. The country continues to host more than 35,000 Sudanese refugees alongside thousands of returnees, placing additional pressure on limited national resources amid regional spillover effects.
Sahel, Nigeria and Chad secure major share of support
Chad will benefit from over €72 million (around $78.5 million), as it continues to absorb large numbers of people fleeing the Sudan conflict. Since April 2023, more than 919,000 Sudanese refugees and nearly 390,000 Chadian returnees have entered the country.
EU assistance in Chad will go toward essential needs such as shelter, clean water, sanitation, protection services, and food aid, with a focus on eastern regions and the Lake Chad Basin.
Mauritania has been assigned €4.8 million (about $5.2 million) to support over 400,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Mali, alongside vulnerable host communities. The funding will cover food assistance, shelter, water and sanitation, protection, and disaster preparedness activities.
Nigeria is set to receive €33 million (approximately $36 million) to respond to what authorities describe as one of its most severe food and nutrition emergencies in recent years. Around 35 million people require urgent food support, while 6.4 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, including about 2 million in critical condition. The intervention will focus on health, nutrition, food aid, emergency education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in the North East and North West.
An additional €6 million (roughly $6.5 million) will be channelled to coastal West African states such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo, where insecurity and displacement trends are increasing. A further €6.4 million (about $7 million) will support regional humanitarian coordination efforts.
Push for faster humanitarian action
EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said the overlapping crises demand sustained international commitment.
She noted that West and Central Africa is confronting “a storm of humanitarian crises driven by conflict, poverty, hunger, instability, and climate shocks,” stressing that for many affected people, humanitarian aid provides essentials such as food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, and education opportunities for children.
She reaffirmed the European Union’s position as a “reliable and principled humanitarian partner” in the region.
Across West and Central Africa, persistent conflict, environmental stress, and governance challenges continue to overlap, with the Central Sahel and Lake Chad Basin remaining the hardest-hit displacement hotspots, while ripple effects are increasingly spreading into coastal countries and neighbouring states.