Humanitarian crises are challenges affecting millions of people. They are diverse and global – be they natural disasters, famine crises, conflicts or wars. However, the attention of the global public is usually focused on a few, particularly prominent crises.
Each year, we publish the CARE Crisis Report, which puts the ten most under-reported crises and people affected into focus. Together with the media monitoring agency Meltwater, CARE analyses the humanitarian crises that receive the least media attention, and ranks them according to the number of online articles published worldwide.
The ten most under-reported crises of 2024
In 2024, the ten most under-reported crises were:
- Angola - 2.2 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
- Central African Republic - One in five people are displaced.
- Madagascar - More than 80 percent of people live below the poverty line.
- Burkina Faso - Acute hunger affects 2.7 million people.
- Burundi - 52 percent of children under the age of five are chronically malnourished.
- Mozambique - 2.8 million people do not have enough to eat.
- Cameroon - 60 percent of the population has no access to clean water.
- Malawi - 40 percent of the population suffers from extreme food shortages.
- Zambia - 9.8 million people are affected by drought.
- Niger - 4.5 million people need humanitarian aid.
The facts speak for themselves: as a consequence of these forgotten crises, around 34.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. And for the third year in a row, all of the most under-reported crises are in Africa.
While conflicts, hunger crises and extreme weather events in countries such as Angola, Mozambique and Niger have a massive impact on the lives of those affected, the emergencies largely escape global attention.
The human impact behind the numbers
Our media analysis for the year 2024 shows the weighting of reporting on humanitarian crises at a global level. A total of 43 crises were analysed for the report. Each of these affected at least one million people. Of the total of 5.6 million online articles analysed, 2.7 million articles - almost half - are about the devastating conflict in Gaza.
Numbers never capture the scale of human suffering. In many of these crises, mothers, fathers and children struggle to survive on a daily basis - often without access to basic humanitarian aid or international support. And underreporting on a crisis is often accompanied by a lack of financial support for people in need.
Forgotten crises: How you can help
CARE's aim is to raise awareness of what is happening in these countries and communities, highlighting where greater support is needed and capturing what initiatives people are taking to forge a better future for themselves. Join us in shining a spotlight on what is too often overseen.
You can:
- Share the CARE Crisis report on your social channels
- Sign up to our mailing list to find out more about humanitarian crises and the people who are most affected by them
- Donate to CARE and support people affected by crisis and conflict across the globe