Description of the crisis
Over the last five years the protracted conflicts in the central Sahel region of northern Africa have created a sustained inflow of refugees from Burkina Faso into Savanes region of Togo, precipitating the emergence of IDPs in the Savanes region of Northern Togo. As a result of this continued crisis, the government of Togo declared a state of emergency in the northern Savanes in June 2022.
According to the UNHCR overview of forcibly displaced and stateless persons publication for December 2024, the total numbers of refugees and IDPs were estimated at 58,448 as depicted in the map in figure 1, a slight increase from the August 2024 figures which stood at 58,011 in figure 2. On Average, the majority of displaced persons are women constituting 82% of the total population. This poses greater challenges and risks to a population group which is already vulnerable from multiple challenges such as lack to basic services like health, WASH nutrition and livelihoods. The UNHCR monthly statistics/population trend below points to a continuation of the attacks on civilian population infrastructure, and aid convoys on the border between Burkina Faso and Togo. In 2024 people continued to flee into safe areas in Togo. Exacerbating the situation, access to farming and pasture lands, access to health services, and access to education are very limited under these circumstances, deepening their exposure to food insecurity, malnutrition, and disease, a situation which will require humanitarian response well into 2025. According to WFP county brief of November 2024, the northernmost Savanes region is the worst affected by emergency levels of acute food insecurity with an estimated 32% of the population currently facing crisis and emergency levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 3+). This prediction will further worsen the conditions of the refugees and IDPs if no urgent humanitarian action is taken. Even with a planned food pilot vouchers targeting 11,000 people in the Savanes region planned by WFP starting November 2024, the humanitarian food gap still remains