West Africa

2015 year-end information on the West Africa subregion is presented below. A summary of this can also be downloaded in PDF format. This subregion covers the following countries:

Subregion: West Africa

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Latest update of camps and office locations 13 Jan 2016. By clicking on the icons on the map, additional information is displayed.

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Budgets and Expenditure in Subregion West Africa

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2015 {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"budget":[257.72904354,284.14940499,273.248311355,292.846334371],"expenditure":[140.80799829,154.60532666,135.78110033,122.94985885]} {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[208.03175836,245.22858108,205.830081875,229.700946219],"p2":[4.46622329,2.391416,3.83601618,5.92538567],"p3":[24.13236217,6.51146826,9.32947275,18.671615912],"p4":[21.09869972,30.01793965,54.25274055,38.54838657]} {"categories":[2012,2013,2014,2015],"p1":[113.20969449,132.96277402,118.99389722,99.31289964],"p2":[1.42116087,1.52248886,2.13033718,3.24029389],"p3":[17.26631744,3.20584556,4.1636139,6.17672818],"p4":[8.91082549,16.91421822,10.49325203,14.21993714]}

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People of Concern - 2015

[["Refugees",294953],["Asylum-seekers",7885],["IDPs",2659508],["IDP-like situation",20553],["Returned IDPs",53950],["Returned refugees",16375],["Stateless",700116],["Others of concern",71536]]

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Plan Overview
Year-End Report

Response in 2015

In the subregion, the Mali and Nigeria crises remained the largest drivers of forced displacement and humanitarian needs. In Mali, despite the signature of the peace agreement by all parties, increased instability and inter-communal clashes in the central and northern regions continued to trigger displacement inside Mali and in neighbouring countries, hampering conditions conducive for a massive and safe return of Malians to their areas of origin. In Nigeria, the successive insurgency and counter-insurgency measures resulted in heightened violence in the North-East, leading to an unprecedented high number of displaced civilians within Nigeria and to the border areas of Lake Chad Basin countries.

UNHCR’s access to people of concern and delivery of aid were increasingly constrained in countries directly affected by violence and insecurity. For host countries in the sub-region, concerns about the spillover of violence and the impact of hosting refugees on local communities, infrastructures and resources also created challenges in terms of access to territory and asylum space.

UNHCR maintained a close dialogue with host governments in the sub-region to promote a favourable protection environment, in particular in strengthening national screening capacity for asylum-seekers and in the fight against statelessness. UNHCR supported self-reliance initiatives through skills training and income-generating activities to help families transition from assistance to self-sustenance. UNHCR also continued to carry-out large-scale registration operations, provide live-saving assistance, and reinforce coordination with partners.

Regarding the search for durable solutions, as part of its regional solutions strategy for protracted refugee populations UNHCR advocated an alternative residence status for long-staying refugees in the region. It worth noting that the voluntary repatriation of Ivorian refugees from Liberia resumed in December 2015, after an 18-month suspension due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the region.

Operations

Operations in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria are presented in separate country pages.

In 2015, the majority of UNHCR’s people of concern in the West Africa subregion were refugees who remained in a protracted displacement situation. In many countries, legal solutions were sometimes hampered by the unavailability of updated and reliable profiling data, limited capacity of national status determination institutions and lengthy procedures to access naturalisation or alternative status. The difficult socio-economic context faced by many countries in the sub-region also limited employment and livelihood opportunities in favour of refugee populations.

At the end of 2015, Benin was hosting 530 Central African and Ivorian refugees. Whilst continuing to assist these refugees with livelihoods opportunities, UNHCR advocated and provided technical advice to the government on the reform of nationality laws to permit acquisition of nationality by stateless individuals. In this regard, the implementation of the government-approved national plan for the eradication of statelessness began in 2015 under UNHCR’s leadership. UNHCR also granted the Commission nationale d’assistance aux réfugiés access to ProGres, a registration software programme to improve the collection, sharing and use of information on refugees and other persons of concern.

In The Gambia, UNHCR continued to assist 7,854 refugees, the vast majority being Senegalese. In 2015, some 67 per cent of refugees benefited from self-reliance and livelihoods support, making them less dependent on aid. Some 1,700 refugee children at primary and secondary school were supported by UNHCR throughout the year. The organisation provided training to security personnel, magistrates, lawyers, and local government officials on international refugee law and protection as well as on registration of refugees in emergency situation. UNHCR continued to work to seek durable solutions to the plight of refugees, in particular through advocacy efforts on access to naturalization procedures or long-term residence permits.

Guinea Bissau sheltered 8,601 Senegalese refugees at the end of 2015. With UNHCR’s support, refugees’ identity cards were distributed in rural villages as a solid documentation to be able to undertake basic administrative formalities and travel within and outside the country. Activities to tackle cases of sexual and gender-based violence among the refugee population were strengthened through the creation of protection committees in rural areas. In the fight against statelessness, UNHCR continued to strongly advocate for the implementation of the Abidjan Declaration adopted in February 2015.

Senegal hosted 14,492 refugees as at the end of 2015, 95 per cent of whom were from Mauritania. A verification and profiling exercise carried out during the year showed that the majority of the refugees were favourable to local integration and naturalisation. UNHCR continued to work closely with the government and relevant stakeholders on documentation and the development of socio-economic opportunities to facilitate local solutions for these refugees. In that sense, 11,657 refugee identity cards were issued by the government during the year, allowing refugees to enjoy social and economic rights. In an effort to strengthen the local integration process, UNHCR supported refugee students in primary and secondary schools and organised professional training sessions for refugee adults.

In Sierra Leone, UNHCR’s operation focused on strengthening the legal and administrative framework to improve asylum and provide adequate protection and assistance to the 760 Liberia refugees remaining in the country. In order to facilitate their local integration, refugees received residence permits from the government of Sierra Leone. As part of the village savings and lending associations (VSLA) initiative – a community-managed finance scheme –, UNHCR provided agricultural inputs and training sessions to farming households. Furthermore, in support to the government’s social mobilization efforts for containment of Ebola Virus Disease, UNHCR procured and distributed hygiene promotion materials to refugee families and provided stipends to community volunteers engaged in contact tracing, surveillance and psychosocial first aid.

In December 2015, Togo hosted some 21,953 refugees, the majority of whom were from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. During the year, some progress was made towards the local integration of Ghanaian refugees. The provision of education and health care services for urban and rural refugees, including for those living with HIV, was integrated into public systems. UNHCR supported the establishment of a health care insurance allowing both refugees and Togolese nationals to have access to a network of health clinics across the country.

Through its Regional Office for West Africa located in Dakar, UNHCR continued to oversee and provide protection guidance and programme support at the regional level to West Africa operations. The Office coordinated humanitarian, protection and resource mobilization efforts for the CAR, Mali and Nigeria situations, in particular in relation to the preparatory works for the launch of the 2016 Regional Refugee Response Plans. As part of the solution strategy for the protracted situation in the region, several groups of refugees benefited from resettlement in the United States and Canada.

Summary (ENG)

Operational environment and strategy

Parts of West Africa remain affected by insecurity, including food insecurity in the Sahel and political crises. Elections are scheduled for 2015 in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. These could result in violence, affecting regional stability and security. UNHCR has developed several contingency plans with countries likely to see an influx of people if widespread violence occurs. At regional level, and within the framework of emergency preparedness and emergency response, UNHCR has also developed a task force to monitor and report threat levels.

In Mali in 2014, presidential elections and a better security situation in the north, led more Malian refugees to request assistance in returning. However, as the security situation in areas of origin in the north remains volatile and unpredictable, most refugees have not yet returned. UNHCR will, in consultation with host countries and Malian authorities, provide refugees with information both on the situation in areas of origin and on ongoing activities aimed at improving conditions. It will also work with partners to ensure that those who have returned are integrated into support structures. While more than 12,900 refugees have been assisted to return in 2014, it is expected that another 42,000 will return home in 2015, along with an estimated 74,000 internally displaced people (IDPs).

Violent clashes between government forces and armed groups in the north of Nigeria have triggered large waves of displacement. More than half a million civilians have been internally displaced, while others have sought safety in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The humanitarian crisis resulting from this internal conflict shows no sign of abating in 2015. UNHCR and partner agencies have stepped up responses to the Nigeria refugee crises in the neighbouring countries already in 2014, which need to be sustained into 2015. UNHCR has also taken measures to strengthen its collaboration in the protection of IDPs inside Nigeria, under the leadership of the recently appointed Humanitarian Coordinator.

Beyond political and security challenges, food insecurity continues in the Sahel. UNHCR will support refugees and IDPs by providing more agricultural tools while working to find alternative status for refugees in protracted situations.

Meanwhile, the spread of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, has already killed 3,000 people. The outbreak has dramatic consequences on social and economic activities in West Africa. Several borders have been closed to prevent further contamination. Many farmers no longer tend their fields in affected areas, where prices have inflated. Furthermore, Ebola is significantly affecting UNHCR’s refugee operations, including the suspension since July 2014 of Ivorian refugees’ return from Liberia. The organization has maintained its presence in the three most affected countries but has suspended non-essential missions within and to affected countries. While ensuring continuity of operations, these have nonetheless been reduced to the essential, including a reduction of monitoring frequency. The quarantine measures adopted particularly in Liberia and Guinea, reduce the practical freedom of refugees to leave the camps in search of livelihoods, which complemented the largely inadequate food basket assistance provided, thus making them more dependent on assistance. In that situation, a full food basket will become critical to preventing and combating malnutrition.

UNHCR continues to implement its regional solutions strategies for protracted refugee populations, in close collaboration with host governments. It will, as a sub-regional priority, advocate an alternative residence status for long-staying refugees.

Response and Implementation

In Benin, 219 refugees, mainly from the Central African Republic and Côte d’Ivoire, will require UNHCR’s protection in 2015. The Government’s commitment to finding a definitive solution to long-staying refugees means the number of refugees in Benin has drastically decreased. Since January 2013, a strategy focusing on local integration was developed and implemented with UNHCR support. Refugees wishing to stay in the country were granted 10 years legal residence and issued with documentation that allowed them to integrate locally.

In Burkina Faso, UNHCR will continue to provide protection and multi-sectoral assistance to, and promote the self-reliance of, refugees. Conditions permitting, the organization will support Malian refugees in Burkina Faso willing to return home and use resettlement as both a protection tool and durable solution for the most vulnerable. UNHCR will ensure delivery of health services in refugee camps, strengthening reproductive health, HIV and AIDS services, and health referrals. The organization aims to ensure that at least 5,000 refugee children are enrolled in quality primary education in 2015. The construction of durable transitional shelters and the distribution of shelter materials and tool kits will also be a UNHCR priority in Burkina Faso.

In the Gambia, most refugees are Senegalese. More than 8,000 of them live in the rural areas in more than 50 host villages in Foni, along the Gambia’s border with Senegal. Some 1,200 refugees from Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone live in the Greater Banjul area. In 2015, as part of its comprehensive solutions strategy for Senegalese refugees, UNHCR will look to naturalization and alternative status for the refugees, while continuing to explore practical ways of empowering the refugees through the promotion of self-reliance activities.

In 2015, UNHCR will protect and assist more than 14,000 refugees, mainly Ivorians and Togolese, in Ghana. UNHCR will promote self-reliance through skills training and income-generation activities to help transition families from assistance to self-sustenance. The joint UN strategy - coordinated between UNHCR and WFP - envisages a phase-out of food assistance for the in-camp population by March 2015. An estimated 2,000 asylum-seekers are expected there in 2015, mainly from Côte d’Ivoire. Around 2,000 Togolese refugees opted to locally integrate in Ghana and negotiations are ongoing to provide them with legal residence.

In Guinea, an estimated 6,600 refugees will continue to need international protection and UNHCR will support the repatriation of Ivorians wishing to do so.

Guinea-Bissau will continue hosting more than 8,400 Senegalese refugees living in rural areas. Negotiations with the Government are ongoing to facilitate local integration through an alternative legal status or naturalization. UNHCR, with government support, has developed a road map to facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive solutions strategy for Senegalese refugees in the country.

In 2015, the Office in Nigeria will be responding to the protection needs of some 1,700 recognized refugees. UNHCR will in addition pursue the repatriation of the Cameroonian refugees. It will strengthen its presence and capacity in the country and will monitor protection needs, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission, national NGOs and civil society. UNHCR will also build the capacity of state agencies by promoting training on basic principles of protection and camp coordination and camp management. The organization together with partners will support the authorities in the implementation of the Kampala Convention, strengthening their capacity in protection monitoring and response.

Regionally, UNHCR will continue to oversee and to provide protection guidance and programme support to nine West African operations that host more than 150,000 refugees through its Regional Office for West Africa. It will ensure the coordination, policy, oversight and technical support for operations in Benin, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. In addition, UNHCR’s Regional Representation for West Africa will coordinate the regional response to emergencies in Mali and Nigeria. Also, the Regional Representation will continue to provide a wider coordination platform to Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali and Niger.

At least 15,800 refugees live in Senegal, with more than 13,500 of them Mauritanian. Refugee identity cards issued by the Government of Senegal allow them to enjoy social and economic rights. In the absence of repatriation opportunities, UNHCR will continue to strengthen the local integration process in 2015.

Sierra Leone hosts approximately 690 Liberian refugees. A group of around 270 Liberians, whose nationality was not confirmed during the cessation process, will remain of concern to UNHCR in 2015 and alternative solutions for them will be explored.

Togo hosts more than 2,800 refugees and 420 asylum-seekers, who live in urban areas. Among the urban refugee population, 85 per cent are Ivorians and most live in Avépozo refugee camp. Many Ivorian refugees are expected to repatriate in 2015. Ghanaians who arrived after 2010 will continue receiving protection and assistance and UNHCR will pursue a durable solutions strategy for long-stay Ghanaian refugees in northern Togo.

Summary (ENG) or Résumé (FR)

Budget and Expenditure
Voluntary Contributions

2015 Budget and Expenditure in West Africa | USD

Operation		Pillar 1 Refugee programme	Pillar 2 Stateless programme	Pillar 3 Reintegration projects	Pillar 4 IDP projects	Total
Burkina Faso	Budget Expenditure	20,567,209 14,063,407	0 0	0 0	0 0	20,567,209 14,063,407
Côte d'Ivoire	Budget Expenditure	15,033,233 4,708,272	3,599,304 2,070,552	7,917,216 2,506,139	0 0	26,549,754 9,284,963
Ghana	Budget Expenditure	10,948,861 5,309,408	0 0	0 0	0 0	10,948,861 5,309,408
Guinea	Budget Expenditure	7,178,568 3,600,799	0 0	0 0	0 0	7,178,568 3,600,799
Liberia	Budget Expenditure	34,164,707 15,362,854	0 0	0 0	0 0	34,164,707 15,362,854
Mali	Budget Expenditure	48,924,988 9,384,458	123,119 101,971	10,754,399 3,670,590	8,058,010 1,709,622	67,860,517 14,866,641
Niger	Budget Expenditure	46,858,700 25,698,549	254,369 250,799	0 0	2,654,087 1,931,127	49,767,155 27,880,475
Senegal Regional Office	Budget Expenditure	46,024,679 21,185,152	1,948,594 816,972	0 0	27,836,290 10,579,188	75,809,563 32,581,312
Total	Budget Expenditure	229,700,946 99,312,900	5,925,386 3,240,294	18,671,616 6,176,728	38,548,387 14,219,937	292,846,334 122,949,859