Historic Flooding in West and Central Africa Leaves Communities in Urgent Need

Countries across West and Central Africa, and especially Chad, Nigeria, Mali, and Niger, have been hit by the most severe flooding in decades, leaving up to four million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid. That is a more than threefold increase from the total number of people affected by flooding in the region last year. The flooding has killed more than one thousand people, displaced hundreds of thousands, and left widespread destruction across some of the world’s most fragile countries. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the region, and we call on other donors to act quickly to support flood-affected communities. 

Flooding has damaged or destroyed more than 300,000 homes and rendered health facilities and schools unusable across the region since the start of this unusually intense rainy season, while nearly 940,000 acres of agricultural land and over 36,000 cattle have been swept away by flood waters – robbing people of vital livelihoods, worsening economic prospects, and driving food insecurity among the most vulnerable. With critical infrastructure damaged or destroyed and large swaths of land unreachable, access to essential services like health care, education, and markets has been severely disrupted, while damage to latrines and other water sources has undermined sanitation and increased the risk of waterborne diseases. 

In response to flood-related impacts across the region, USAID has surged more than $3 million in humanitarian assistance thus far to help people address emergency needs, including the $1 million provided in the immediate aftermath of the floods. USAID’s UN and NGO partners are working across the most affected countries to provide emergency food assistance, shelter support, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services. We are working to support our partners to reach people as quickly and safely as possible.

Across the globe, more frequent and more extreme weather events – from prolonged dry spells to heavy rains and flooding – are threatening communities facing these shocks. And in West and Central Africa, this latest natural disaster is coming as countries across the region are suffering from other humanitarian crises as well. For instance, approximately half of all those affected by flooding – 1.5 million people – live in Chad, a country already balancing multiple security and humanitarian needs, from armed group activity to hosting more than one million refugees, including nearly 640,000 refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring Sudan since April 2023.

To help meet these needs and help communities respond to conflict, climate disasters, and other crises, USAID has provided nearly $1.4 billion in total humanitarian assistance across West and Central Africa to date in Fiscal Year 2024. But as intense rains and resulting flooding continue to drive widespread suffering, more must be done. Donors should increase their support for flood-affected populations to save lives and help people recover from this historic devastation.