More than 117 million people are currently displaced worldwide – yet fewer than one in 10 UK adults are aware of some of the world’s most neglected crises driving families from their homes.
Across Somalia, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique, families are fleeing from conflict, climate disasters, and deepening poverty – often more than once – with many now living in overcrowded camps or makeshift shelters.
But research has highlighted just how wide the awareness gap is – with many UK adults unaware these crises are happening at all.
Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, only eight per cent knew about the situation in Mozambique and Cameroon, where whole communities have been forced to escape violence.
Awareness was only slightly higher for displacement crises in other countries – with 12 per cent aware of Burkina Faso, 28 per cent for Ethiopia, and 37 per cent for Somalia.
The study was commissioned by UK-based disaster relief charity ShelterBox, which is currently responding to crises in all five countries – considered to be among the world’s most neglected.
It supports people uprooted by conflict, the climate crisis, and other disasters with emergency shelter and essential items such as water filters and solar lights.
The charity has released a series of images highlighting the reality facing displaced families, including Nuria, who fled her rural village in Somalia with her family after drought destroyed her livelihood.
Travelling on foot for hundreds of kilometres to the city of Baidoa, she faced extreme heat and heavy rains while caring for her children - and several more she adopted after they lost their families.
But the sanctuary was short-lived as renewed conflict forced Nuria and the 10 children she looks after to flee again.
She said: “These relocations were prompted by the agonising period of war, unlike the usual challenges brought about by drought.
“In the absence of a proper house, the heavy rains made things difficult. We were caught in the rain, unable to seek shelter due to our circumstances.”
Nuria, one of 34,000 people supported by Juba Foundation and ShelterBox in Somalia, now has a sturdy shelter with a wooden frame, a kitchen set to cook for her children, a solar light so they can spend time together in the evenings, and other essentials - as well as a five-year land tenure agreement, giving her family the security to stay without fear of eviction.
But the study found that while 88 per cent aren’t aware of the sheer number of people forced from their homes worldwide, there is hope, as 46 per cent want to know more so they could help.
However, 11 per cent had never heard the term “displacement” used in a humanitarian context, with 51 per cent of the belief they lacked knowledge because the crises ‘don’t typically affect the UK’.
Other reasons included other events being in the headlines (42 per cent) and a limited understanding of the affected regions (32 per cent).
Euan Crawshaw, director of international programmes at ShelterBox, said: “It’s easy to forget or not know what is happening around the world, especially at this time of year.
“These numbers show the scale of the issue, but they also show something hopeful – people want to be more informed.
“There are millions of stories like Nuria’s - families who have endured so much and just need a little bit of support to begin again.”
One of them is Abi, now 18, who lives in Minawao camp in Cameroon.
Born in Banki, Nigeria, she was separated from her mother at two and fled her home at eight with the woman who raised her – Naomie, who she calls her ‘grandmother’.
To escape violence, they crossed towns along the Nigeria-Cameroon border before reaching Minawao, where they still live a decade later.
Abi had to leave school to support Naomie and her 12-year-old sister Saratu after extreme weather damaged their emergency shelter.
She said: “Life here is generally good, although it has become more difficult over time.
“I remember that before I came to Minawao I lived in Banki in Nigeria, where I went to school.
“At a certain point the town started to empty, people were fleeing because of the war.
“My grandmother told me that we were chased out of our house and all our possessions were confiscated by Boko Haram.
“We suffered for a long time before finding stability here in Minawao.”
ShelterBox and Public Concern have supported Abi and many others in Cameroon with building materials and training.
The charity tailors its responses to crises around the world to support local needs, from tents and shelter repair kits to more permanent shelters built to withstand floods or extreme heat.
