The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said some 48,000 people are currently declared missing across Africa, reported CAJNews Africa.
The ICRC disclosed the figures in a statement on Monday marking the International Day of the Missing.
“This figure represents only a fraction of the actual number of missing people and the vast humanitarian crisis we are dealing with,” said Patrick Youssef, the director of the Africa region for the ICRC.
Youssef said that tens of thousands of families on the African continent are facing this issue every day. He added that people going missing due to violence, armed conflicts, and migration is one of the most damaging and long-lasting humanitarian consequences.
The Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights of African Union adopted a resolution on missing migrants in Africa recently.
The ICRC director urged African nations to turn focus to humanitarian priorities including preventing people from disappearing, facilitating their search and identification if they went missing, and addressing the needs of their families.
He said that ICRC is committed to helping people restore contact with their families in spite of displacement and migration.
“We also stand ready to provide our technical and legal expertise to help ascertain the fate and the whereabouts of missing people and to support their families,” Youssef said.
Notably, Nigeria accounts for more than half of the total number of missing persons in Africa. Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Cameroon are among the other countries with high numbers of disappeared people.
The Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in various countries are also hampering efforts to find victims and reunite them with their families.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,741,917 as of Monday afternoon.
