Breaking the Silence, a report by CARE International on the ten most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2023, concludes that - for the second year in a row - all ten were in Africa. The report contrasts the number of stories devoted to each crisis with media mentions for four stories that grabbed huge headlines throughout the year - Taylor Swift's world tour, Prince Harry's book Spare, Greta Gerwig's Barbie film, and the iPhone 15.
"From conflict in Angola to climate change in Zimbabwe, every entry in this report represents countless human tragedies taking place in the shadows of the world's gaze," CARE concludes.
The calculations of overlooked crises does not include several countries where large-scale disasters are taking a toll, including Sudan, where conflict between warring armies has left some 28 million people in need of assistance, according to Concerned Worldwide; the Democractic Republic of the Congo, where an estimated 27 milion people need assistalnce after decades of conflict and increased violence in 2023; Ethiopia, where lingering conflict, disease, the ongoing impact of climate change and the spread of famine in the Tigre region have left come 20 million in need of assistance; and South Sudan, where 13.6 million people need some form of assistance due to ceaseless conflict and the ravages caused by climate change and a largely disfunctional public health system.
"In a world where news cycles are becoming more short-lived, it is more important than ever that we collectively remember that every crisis, whether forgotten or not, brings with it a human toll," the CARE report says in a statement applicable to all Africa's overlooked disasters.
The CARE list of underreported includes:
Angola: Landmines and hunger
Zambia: Between drought and floods
Burundi: Refugees and hunger
Senegal: Heat brings hunger
Mauritania: Drought, floods and instability
Central African Republic: Violence and poverty
Cameroon: Climate crisis and conflict
Burkina Faso: Violence and displacement
Uganda: Poverty and climate change
Zimbabwe: Hunger and disease
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