West Africa Floods: More than 950,000 people displaced and children sheltering in schools just weeks before school term starts

Toronto, September 6, 2024 – Recent heavy rains and floods across West Africa have forced nearly 950,000 people [1], many of them children, from their homes across Mali, Nigeria and Niger, Save the Children said. 

The hundreds of thousands of children now displaced from their homes are facing disease, hunger from crop destruction, and disruption to their education, as schools have become crowded with fleeing families or damaged in the floods.

While this is normally the rainiest time of the year in the region, this year’s rains have been more severe than usual, causing widespread flood damage to four regions (Bamako, Ségou, Koulikoro, and Gao) of Mali, the northern states of Nigeria and the Maradi region of Niger. These kinds of extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe as a result of the climate crisis, said Save the Children.

In Mali, where the government has declared a national state of disaster, the floods have forced 73,778 people including 32,889 children from their homes [2], many of whom are seeking shelter in schools, risking a delay to the school term which is scheduled to start in October.

Rama*, 11, from Mali told Save the Children: “We came to live in the school because of the flood that destroyed all our house as well as everything we owned: our farmyard, our clothes, our kitchen utensils, our food, especially my sister’s school supplies as well as our pretty doll that I loved very much. 

“We sleep in a school with some neighboring families who have also been affected, but there are also other families and many people I don’t know. I’m separated from my best friends in the neighborhood, and I haven’t even heard from some for days. With the reopening of schools, we have no shelters, my grandmother is already worried that we will be chased away from the school. I don’t know yet if I will continue school this year because we lost everything in the water. I don’t think my parents will have the means to support me at school”. 

In Nigeria, flooding has affected 29 of the country’s 36 states – four-fifths of the country – mostly in the northern areas. The torrential rainfall has led to the overflowing of dams and rising water levels of the two largest rivers, the Niger and the Benue, resulting in the death of over 200 people including children [3]. On top of those killed, more than 225,000 have been displaced from their homes across the country, while more than 2,100 have been injured [3].  

According to Nigerian government data [4], over 115,265 hectares of farmland have also been damaged, in a country with already high rates of food insecurity. Save the Children recently estimated that one in every six children across Nigeria faced hunger in June-August this year – a 25% increase on the same period last year.  

In Niger, flooding has affected all 8 regions of the country, with torrential rains and floods beginning in May washing away houses and destroying buildings, bridges and roads. At least 265 people have been killed [5] and children remain at risk of drowning, waterborne diseases and electrocution from exposed wires, Maradi , Zinder, and Tahoua (in southern Niger) have experienced the greatest devastation in terms of affected people and damaged houses, said Save the Children.  As of 2 September, the official government figures on floods countrywide show 85 260 affected households (649 184 individuals) including 68 955 destroyed houses and 110 damaged classrooms [5].

Vishna Shah-Little, Regional Director of Advocacy, Communications, Campaigns and Media for Save the Children in West and Central Africa said:  

“We expected this was coming with the rainy season – but this level of destruction is something else, and could have been avoided if action was taken sooner.  

“These countries are already ravaged by conflict and insecurity, making it even harder to respond – it is critical that support gets to those who need it in a timely manner to prevent things from getting worse. And we need to see urgent, bold action on climate change from the global level as its impact on children becomes more and more visible.” 

Save the Children is actively responding to flood victims’ needs in the Segou region of Mali through food security programs, cash transfers, the provision of water, hygiene and sanitation services, and child protection activities. The Segou region is the most affected in Mali, with 15,656 children affected, constituting about 51 per cent of the total affected children population. 

In Nigeria, Save the Children is responding in Adamawa state, distributing foldable mattresses, blankets, and hygiene and sanitation products to the most vulnerable flood-affected households including children and the elderly. 

In the global response to the climate crisis, Save the Children is calling for national governments to rapidly phase out the use and subsidy of fossil fuels and ensure a just and equitable transition in order to limit warming temperatures to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. 

Leaders must also include the voices, needs and rights of children, particularly those affected by inequality and discrimination, in the global response to climate change, including in climate finance from higher-income countries to lower-income countries. At a practical level, this includes ensuring buildings like schools are more resilient to extreme weather events such as flooding so that children can learn safely. 

Around the world, Save the Children works to create lasting change with and for children by supporting communities to strengthen their resilience to the climate crisis and calling on world leaders to tackle its root causes. 

*name has been changed to protect anonymity  

Notes: 

1. Total number of the reported displaced people in Mali (73,778), Nigeria (225,000) and Niger (649 184) according to the official document released by the countries’ emergency agencies in September
2. National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Mali Flooding reports released on September 2024
3. Official figures released by Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on 3 September, 2024
4. Official figures released by Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on 3 September, 2024
5. Official figures released by MINISTERE DE L’ACTION HUMANITAIRE ET DE LA GESTION DES CATASTROPHES – REPUBLIQUE DU NIGER on September 4, 2024