Many factors contribute to making Africa the continent worse hit by humanitarian crises.

The African peoples and governments are looking forward with anxiety to the effective implementation of measures taken during the First World Humanitarian Summit that held in Istanbul, Turkey from May 23-24, 2016. This is because the continent is a melting point of major humanitarian crises that stem from a diversity of factors.

Terrorism and Wars

Global Terrorism Index discloses that Africa is greatly hit by terrorist attacks with Nigeria ranked the third country in the world owing to the incessant insurgencies of the Boko Haram terrorist group. Diverse terrorist groups are operating in Africa such as Al-Shabab in Somalia and other Eastern African countries, Islamic State militants in northern African countries such as Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, as well as Al-Qaeda linked groups in Mali.

The African continent is also endemic to civil wars, sectarian fighting and civil strives.  Countries ravaged by wars include South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Sudan in the Darfur region with Burundi having suffered from civil strife. The terrorist attacks and wars have created a worsening refugee situation and the internally displacement of people.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says that Sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than 26 per cent of the world’s refugee population. The report indicates that over 18 million people in this region are of concern to UNHCR. It further states that the number has soared in recent years, partly due to ongoing crises in the Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan. Most Africans fleeing the wars for greener pastures in Europe have drowned in their desperate escape attempts at the Mediterranean Sea.

Epidemics

Besides armed conflicts, Africa is vulnerable to epidemics and pandemics. The case of the Ebola fever attack which started in March 2014 that greatly affected the West African countries such as Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone is still a major humanitarian concern in the world. World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 26, 2016 indicated the latest Ebola epidemic situation though the disease has been contained. WHO indicated that 28,616 cases were reported, 11,310 deaths were registered and there are 10,000 survivors. The Ebola attack  came to add to the HIV/AIDS  and Malaria that have become endemic to the continent.

Africa variedly faces natural disasters such as drought and floods leading to humanitarian consequences such as acute food security crises and lost of human and animal lives.  Eastern African countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti are vulnerable to droughts caused by persistent absence of rain. Reports say an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people died of drought-related causes in the area in 2011-2012 with more than half being children due to famine. Floods are almost endemic to the southern region of Africa.