Attachments
Current Situation
Despite growing insecurity and an increasingly complex crisis in neighbouring Burkina Faso, the Republic of Togo continues to uphold and respect commitments to receive and host refugees and asylum-seekers in its territory since December 2021 when the first influx from the central Sahel crisis were experienced.
The Savanes region in northern Togo hosts an estimated of 37,917 refugees and asylum-seekers, as of December 2023, of which 23,455 were registered by the National Commission for Assistance to Refugees (CNAR). Around 60%are women and children. In addition, according to the authorities and IOM, the impact of the central Sahel crisis into the north of the Savanes region has led to the internal displacement of some 18,428 people within the country’s northern prefectures.
In an increasingly fragile security context, refugees and asylum-seekers arriving from Burkina Faso are welcomed into Togolese host communities, mainly in the prefectures of Cinkassé, Tône and Kpendjal, where they either stay with host families or rent their own accommodation, which is often small and precarious or makeshift. Refugees and asylum-seekers are arriving in a region that faces several existing development challenges, with prevalent poverty rates and the lack of availability of basic social services. Recent population increases in urban and rural areas have placed additional pressure on already limited services.
In this context, humanitarian and development partners are working together to support the Togolese authorities in strengthening institutional, community and individual resilience, to work for stabilized social cohesion and to link humanitarian, peace and development initiatives. To counter the effects of the challenges and accelerate the strengthening of resilience, under the general direction of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, partners are working in close alignment with the government’s flagship programme for strengthening resilience in the Savanes (PURS). Through a strengthened sectoral approach, partners will ensure increased engagement in inter-agency assessments, planning and implementation for harmonized and complementary activities. This one-year regional response plan, endorsed by national authorities, brings together 12 humanitarian and development partners. The plan aims to strengthen the resilience of local populations, local governance and the capacity of states to deliver services in the northern region of Togo, which is currently affected by the situation in the central Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso.