The humanitarian organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) has released its annual Emergency Watchlist Thursday, highlighting the 20 countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2024. This year, Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory and South Sudan top the list of humanitarian emergencies, as conflict, climate risk, economic pressures, growing impunity, and waning international support fuel new and ongoing humanitarian crises around the globe.
Each year, the IRC releases a list of the 20 humanitarian crises expected to worsen the most in the coming year. According to the analysis, the following ten countries are likely to face the worst humanitarian crises in 2024: (1) Sudan, (2) Occupied Palestinian territory, (3) South Sudan, (4) Burkina Faso, (5) Myanmar, (6) Mali, (7) Somalia, (8) Niger, (9) Ethiopia, (10) Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The list of 20 countries most affected by severe humanitarian crises also includes: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, Ecuador, Haiti, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. None of these countries were ranked by the IRC.
The 20 Watchlist countries account for about 10 percent of the worldâs population, but approximately 86 percent of global humanitarian need, 75 percent of forcibly displaced persons, and 68 percent of people who are faced with severe acute food insecurity.
Sudan, where fighting broke out in April 2023 â exactly eight months ago, tops the Emergency Watchlist this year after not featuring in the top ten last year. Large-scale urban warfare, minimal international attention and risk of regional spillover threatens a dramatic deterioration in the coming year with 25 million people already in humanitarian need, and 7 million displaced.
The Occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) ranks second on this yearâs Watchlist. Gaza will enter 2024 as the deadliest place for civilians in the world. Following the horrific October 7 attacks by Palestinian armed groups, Israelâs indiscriminate bombardment of civilians, hospitals, infrastructure, denial of humanitarian access, combined with massive displacement means that 3 million people living in OPT will be in need of humanitarian aid in 2024. Amid the catastrophic situation in the tiny enclave, the IRC expects even more severe needs in 2024 - especially with the imminent collapse of Gazaâs healthcare system.
âThe headlines today are rightly dominated by the crisis in Gaza. There is good reason for that - it is currently the most dangerous place in the world to be a civilian. The ranking of occupied Palestinian territory as second in the Watchlist reflects thatâ, IRC President and CEO David Miliband said.
âBut the Watchlist is a vital reminder that other parts of the world are on fire as well, for structural reasons relating to conflict, climate and economy. We must be able to address more than one crisis at once.â
South Sudan - in third place - continues to suffer from the worst impacts of conflict and climate change, with El Niño-related flooding predicted for next year. The impacts of the war in neighboring Sudan threaten to further destabilize the countryâs fragile economy, and the IRC anticipates an uptick in violence ahead of the countryâs first-ever elections scheduled for December 2024.
For the first time, eight of the top ten countries on the Watchlist are in Africa, where conflict, coups and poverty are rising at alarming rates. Since 2010, there has been a more than doubling of armed groups operating across African Watchlist countries - with nearly half experiencing unconstitutional transfers of power in the last five years, according to the humanitarian organization.
Its report shows the overlap between conflict, the climate crisis, state fragility, and economic emergency - with the majority of countries appearing in the list of states where conflict and extreme climate vulnerability both occur. The disproportionate burden of the climate crisis could worsen next year in many countries affected by El Niño.
IRC also warned the role of regional or global powers in fueling conflict was growing, while 90 percent of casualties during conflicts were civilians. Parties to conflict were also restricting humanitarian access and targeting humanitarian personnel without facing diplomatic or legal consequences
âFor many of the people IRC serves, this is the worst of times. Today, an increasing concentration of global humanitarian need in Watchlist countries is pushed by factors like disproportionate exposure to climate risk, increasing impunity in conflict zones, the rise in conflict, and an increase in public debt matched with diminishing international support,â Miliband said.
âThe statistics laid out and the stories told here are not just IRCâs problem, but the worldâs problem. They deserve to be understood and solved.â
By the end of 2023, more than 114 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. In 2024, some 300 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection. According to the IRC analysis, nearly 90 percent of those people in need are located in Watchlist countries.
Founded in 1933 with the aim of helping the politically persecuted, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the largest non-governmental organizations (NGO) focusing on the support of refugees worldwide. The NGO provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster. Its international headquarters are based in the United States. The IRC helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive and rebuild their lives. The International Rescue Committee is currently working in over 40 countries.
Further information
Full text: Emergency Watchlist Report 2024, International Rescue Committee (IRC), report, released December 14, 2023
https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/CS2401_Report_Watchlist_Final_30MB.pdf