Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are the world's most neglected displacement crises, as humanitarian funding, media attention and political engagement continue to fall short of growing needs, according to an annual ranking by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

In its 2025 Neglected Displacement Crises Report, the humanitarian group said the 10 most neglected crises for the year also include Colombia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Honduras, Ecuador, Cameroon, Nigeria and Mozambique, “spanning three continents and tens of millions of people the world continues to ignore”.

In Sudan, more than 9 million people are internally displaced, and up to 4 million have fled to neighbouring countries, according to the NRC, and nearly 19.5 million people inside the war-torn North African are facing hunger. But, the group said, the international response remains wholly inadequate to that scale of suffering.

“It is incomprehensible that a displacement crisis of similar proportions to the crises in Syria and Ukraine at their peak can continue to worsen almost unnoticed,” NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said. “Just as needs in Sudan skyrocketed last year and famine kept spreading, the funding was cut. Many displaced people receive no international support and are left to beg for assistance from other displaced people who no longer have anything more to share.”

The DRC has been among the world's most neglected displacement crises now for 10 consecutive years, it said. Only 27.4% of the funding required for the DRC humanitarian response was provided last year, it said, characterising it as the lowest coverage rate recorded in a decade. More than 21mn people in the mineral-rich country – plagued by years of conflict – are in need of assistance as a result.

“This is a testament to the world's failure to respond to crises that are not regarded as strategically important for rich countries,” Egeland said. “Millions of people are being abandoned because we have chosen not to act, not because we cannot. The uncomfortable truth is that this neglect is a choice, and something we can choose to end.”

According to the report, international humanitarian support for the DRC has declined sharply over the past decade. While donors provided approximately $55 per person in need in 2016, that figure has fallen to less than $33 today despite escalating humanitarian challenges.

The NRC said a pattern of chronic underfunding extends across several African crises. Countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Mali and Nigeria have appeared repeatedly in the annual ranking, which measures neglect through four indicators: funding levels, media coverage, political attention and displacement scale.

“Donor governments have been presented with evidence of neglect, year after year. Yet those in power still choose to prioritise military and strategic investments and underfund, deprioritise and sideline the victims of these crises. It is a failure of our humanity,” Egeland said.

The report warned that the humanitarian situation in eastern DRC is being compounded by a public health emergency. The NRC noted that an Ebola outbreak spreading across parts of eastern Congo is unfolding in communities already affected by years of conflict, displacement and inadequate humanitarian support.

“Behind every statistic in eastern DR Congo are families who have endured years of violence, repeated displacement, and deep uncertainty about their future,” said Eric Batonon, NRC's country director in the DRC. “While attention shifts from one global emergency to another, millions of Congolese continue to live without adequate protection, assistance, or hope.”

Globally, humanitarian appeals received $15.95bn in funding against requirements of $45.47bn in 2025, leaving a funding gap of $29.5bn, according to data cited by the NRC. The organisation called on donor governments to allocate aid according to humanitarian need rather than geopolitical priorities and urged greater diplomatic engagement with the root causes of displacement.

The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organisation that provides assistance and protection to displaced people and refugees worldwide. It publishes its annual Neglected Displacement Crises Report to highlight emergencies that receive limited international attention and funding.