Niger’s authorities and host communities are providing land for temporary shelter, the UN Refugee Agency says. Nearly 64,000 people have arrived from northern Nigeria this year, while limited registration and shortages of water, shelter and other services leave new arrivals in need of assistance.
Nearly 64,000 people have fled violence in northern Nigeria for Niger since the beginning of the year, the UN Refugee Agency said on 10 November. Many new arrivals lack access to food, clean water, shelter and essential services.
Before 2026, Niger was already hosting more than half a million refugees and asylum-seekers, including approximately 327,500 Nigerians, alongside large numbers of internally displaced people. Over the past 25 years, overlapping jihadist insurgencies, armed banditry and farmer–herder conflicts have forced millions from their homes in northern Nigeria.
In October, about 1,200 people crossed into Diffa in southeastern Niger and another 3,400 into Tahoua in the west, UNHCR said. Both regions border Nigeria.
Only around 5% of Nigerian refugees arriving this year have been registered, UNHCR said. Limited resources meant registration began only recently. Without documents, refugees face added barriers to assistance and essential services, as well as greater protection risks.
In Diffa, some families live in makeshift shelters with little protection from the weather and have no nearby health facilities. Refugee women described walking several kilometers to collect water. Humanitarian partners have reported high levels of malnutrition, poor hygiene and widespread respiratory infections.
Children face barriers to education, including the change from Nigeria’s English-language-based system. Some locations have no schools or transitional classes to help them enter the local system.
Niger’s authorities and host communities are making land available for temporary shelter, but their capacity to support growing numbers of arrivals is increasingly stretched, UNHCR said. The host communities' own resources and livelihoods are already under immense strain.
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UNHCR said Diffa has accounted for more than 70% of Niger’s reported security incidents this year, including armed attacks and violence against civilians. Drought and irregular rainfall have also damaged agriculture: the agency expects grain production to be insufficient in around 700 of the region’s 1,000 villages and estimates that 70% of its pastureland has been lost.
UNHCR is seeking $11.4 million for its emergency and longer-term response in Niger, Nigeria and Benin. That total includes $2 million for immediate needs, including water, food, shelter, health care, registration and protection.
Presenting the findings at a briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 10 November 2026, UNHCR’s director of external relations, Dominique Hyde, called for expanded assistance, stronger coordination and more operational partners. UNHCR is working closely with authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners to address immediate needs. UNHCR warned that without additional resources, thousands of vulnerable families risk being left without essential assistance and protection as displacement continues. It also seeks investment in livelihoods and longer-term solutions for refugees and host communities.
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