Regional office for

West and Central Africa

Displaced women are seen preparing dinner
Displaced women are seen preparing dinner at the informal camp in Bagoundié, 8 km far from Gao, in Mali. The camp hosts 300 households who fled their homes in Tessit, near Ansongo, due to the ongoing conflict and clashes between armed groups OCHA/Michele Cattani
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The West and Central Africa region is the epicentre of a fast-growing crisis with unprecedented levels of armed violence and insecurity. Millions of people are being driven to the fringes of survival due to the confluence of conflict, deep poverty, demographic pressures, urbanization, weak governance, chronically high food insecurity and malnutrition, and the impact of climate change.

OCHA focuses on strengthening humanitarian coordination and response preparedness through its country offices and its Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROWCA), which has been based in Dakar, Senegal, since November 2003. 

To mitigate the impact of natural disasters and other emergencies, ROWCA works closely with UN Resident Coordinators, Humanitarian Country Teams, national and regional organizations, and Member States.

To develop and foster regional coordination networks, ROWCA engages with Governments, external partners and regional organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States and the Economic Community of Central African States.

Regional coverage

Inside a classroom, a boy standing behind a desk speaks into a microphone, which held by a woman, who is standing in front of him. Other children can be seen seated at their desks. Two blackboards are in view in the background.
Country office

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso continues to face the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, with one in four Burkinabè now in need of humanitarian assistance.

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A mother and her crying baby
Country office

Cameroon

Nine out of 10 regions in Cameroon are affected by three complex humanitarian crises: the Lake Chad basin conflict, the North-West and South-West crisis, and the Central African Republic (CAR) refugee crisis.

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Three recent returnees to Chad
Country office

Chad

The humanitarian crisis in Chad is becoming more entrenched due to growing food insecurity and malnutrition, forced displacement, the effects of climate change, and political, socioeconomic, health and sanitation challenges.

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Children working with chalk and slates in classroom
Country office

Mali

Mali is beset by insecurity, conflict, the impacts of climate change and limited access to basic social services, all of which are causing severe humanitarian need.

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A family is sitting for a portrait
Country office

Niger

Niger continues to face an acute and complex humanitarian crisis marked by the impact of persistent insecurity, epidemics, food insecurity and floods.

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A woman and her child look into the camera
Country office

Nigeria

There has been no reprieve in the humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, where armed conflict is now in its thirteenth year.

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Resources

Burundi + 4 more

Analysis

Burundi : Aperçu des Besoins Humanitaires Résiduels (mars 2024)

Avant-propos du RC J’ai l’honneur de vous présenter, le document stratégique des besoins humanitaires résiduels du Burundi à la fin de l’année 2023. Ce document présente une analyse des besoins non...

Originally published
Source
  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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DR Congo

Other

DRC Humanitarian Fund - Annual Report 2023

Donor contributions In 2023, the DRC HF was faced with financial chal-lenges, receiving a total contribution of $40.8 mil-lion, used in conjunction with the CERF allocations of $45.76 million. This...

Originally published
Source
  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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Cameroon + 2 more

Infographic

Cameroon: Humanitarian Dashboard (January to December 2023)

SITUATION OVERVIEW In 2023, nine out of ten regions of Cameroon continued to face, to various extents, humanitarian needs due to impact of three complex and current crises: the Lake Chad basin...

Originally published
Source
  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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Chad + 1 more

Infographic

Chad: Humanitarian Needs Analysis and Response Plan 2024 [EN/AR]

HNRP 2024 OVERVIEW Chad continues to face a protracted and multidimensional humanitarian crisis, with 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, compared with 7.6 million in 2023. Inter-...

Originally published
Source
  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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Funding for OCHA West and Central Africa

Earmarked funding (USD)
2.3M 2023
Opening balance (USD)
0 2023
Total (USD)
2.3M 2023
Total requirements (USD)
4.2M 2023

Earmarked contributions

Canada
$0.1 million
Germany
$0.5 million
Sweden
$0.3 million
United States
$1.3 million

Unearmarked contributions

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • China
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Luxembourg
  • Monaco
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Qatar
  • Republic of
  • Russian Federation
  • S
  • Singapore

Unearmarked contributions (or commitments) are those for which the donor does not require the funds to be used for a specific project, sector, crisis or country, leaving OCHA to decide how to allocate the funds.

Opening balance may include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year, and excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. adjustments, gain/losses on exchange rate etc.)

Funding information from the OCHA Contributions Tracking System.