Suffering in Silence 2017

Advocacy

The 10 Most Underreported Humanitarian Crises of 2017

The year 2017 was marked by scores of humanitarian crises: armed conflicts, devastating natural disasters, climate shocks, hunger, millions of people fleeing their homes. The Syrian war – and the massive refugee crisis it has spawned – is headed into its eighth year. After more than 1,000 days of war, the number of cholera cases in Yemen passed the one million mark. The world shuddered at horrific images of children starving to death. The most powerful Atlantic hurricane season in a decade wreaked havoc across the Caribbean and the southern United States. Almost one million refugees from Myanmar sought shelter and safety in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh after a catastrophic outbreak of violence in their home country.

CARE produced this report to highlight those crises that, though large, have gotten so little attention. “Suffering In Silence” is a call for the global community to help and to advocate for people in crises who are otherwise forgotten.

The 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2017 include:

10. Peru The worst flooding in decades
9. Central African Republic In the heart of Africa, but off the radar
8. Lake Chad Basin At the crossroads between conflict, hunger and displacement
7. Vietnam A destructive typhoon in the shadows of many
6. Mali Trapped in a vicious circle of aid dependency and malnutrition
5. Democratic Republic of Congo A silent humanitarian tsunami
4. Sudan 13 years of war and hunger
3. Burundi Persecution and violence fueling a humanitarian crisis
2. Eritrea Fleeing drought and repression
1. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Life under opression and hunger