West and Central Africa

Document status: current. Last source check: 4 Nov 2026, 09:59 UTC. Extracts below retain the donor’s source wording.

Countries and scope

Central African Republic · Burkina Faso · Mauritania · Cameroon · Nigeria · Benin · Ghana · Niger · Mali · Chad · Togo

• This HIP covers twelve countries, for which budget allocations are foreseen: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo

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Funding priorities

• The following sections present operational priorities for DG ECHO in WCA in 2026, broken down by sector of intervention. Geographical priorities as well as considerations for possiblesupport to multi-country and regional operations are presented in the Technical Annex to this HIP. In general terms, the needs have further increased in the region, and the outlook in the short- to medium-term is negative, especially in the Central Sahel and Lake Chad regions and in the East of Chad due to the aggravation of the situation in Sudan. This constrains further a humanitarian response, which must address more needs and more crises in WCA, with less

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• financial resources due to budget cuts experienced by other major aid donors. This means stringent prioritisation and selection among the proposals received in the framework of the 2026 programming process.

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• DG ECHO will continue to prioritise the people directly affected by the current conflicts and other situation of violence i.e. forcibly displaced people, host communities, people located in hard-to-reach areas/ areas under blockade and people exposed to the food and nutrition crisis.

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• A first geographical focus is on the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, also addressing the spillover of the Sahel crisis in coastal countries and the enhanced refugee influx from Mali into Mauritania. Another focus is on crises in the region which generate significant needs for emergency assistance (North-West South-West Cameroon, North-West Nigeria, Central African Republic, East of Chad). They both warrant further humanitarian funding and attention from DG ECHO.

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• Rapid Response Mechanisms will constitute key instruments to respond timely to unforeseen needs, in a coordinated and multi-sector manner, when appropriate and relevant. The food security response will focus on the most severe phases of food insecurity (Phase 3+ with a focus on Phase 4-5) and address both emergency needs resulting from conflict/displacements and from the seasonal acute food insecurity (lean season) in areas where there are aggravating factors such as conflicts, displacements and/or climate shocks. In the health sector, health activities with the highest prospect of saving lives will be prioritised with a view to ensuring

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• the provision of lifesaving nutrition treatment, of comprehensive primary healthcare services including reproductive and mental health and effective referral mechanisms. WASH and shelter interventions will concentrate on areas hosting major flows of refugees or internal displacements across the broad region. Funding in the Education in Emergencies (EiE) sector will seek to restore and maintain access to safe and quality education during crises in conflict- affected/forcibly displaced communities, and to support out-of-school children (OOSC) to quickly enter or return to quality learning. Attention will be paid to the return to and retention in formal schools of OOSC.

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• Protection activities will be welcome in EiE actions, provided they serve the purpose of access to education, and all sector interventions will need to ensure the centrality of protection, factoring in the expected effect of the intended activities on the degree of protection of the target group(s). Resources will be made available for specific disaster preparedness actions in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Cameroon as well as for possible regional proposals in this sector. DG ECHO will consider proposals for Programmatic Partnerships in the following sectors/modalities: education in emergency, protection, nutrition, health, logistics, disaster preparedness and RRMs.

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• DG ECHO’s interest is mainly driven by the expected benefits that this type of multi-annual strategy might yield, in terms of increased outcomes, cost efficiency and economies of scale, and strategic dialogue on policy priorities such as the triple nexus, greening or localisation. Such benefits will have to be demonstrated at proposal stage.

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• In line with its localisation priority, DG ECHO further encourages partners to consider where relevant, an increased cooperation with local actors, and submit proposals with a strong localisation angle, including actions on capacity building, locally-led response and/or an increased share of funding transferred directly to local actors.

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• General Considerations (complementing the Thematic Policy Annex11)

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• 11 DG ECHO[Thematic Policies Annex](https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/funding/hip2026/thematic_policies_annex_2026.pdf)

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• Preventing and responding to threats, while strengthening the capacities of individuals and communities to reduce protection vulnerabilities, will remain the primary goal in 2026. To achieve this, DG ECHO will support a range of activities through an area-based approach, covering case management services for all victims of human rights violations, including survivors of GBV and children affected by armed conflict. Community-based protection interventions, implemented through a bottom-up approach and closely linked to protection monitoring, will be prioritised to mitigate risks and strengthen resilience.

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• Actions that monitor and promote compliance with international humanitarian, human rights, and refugee law will be prioritised for support, alongside activities aimed at strengthening risk management and due diligence to better protect and safeguard humanitarian workers. Psychological first aid should be mainstreamed into all responses, while Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services will be needs-based and context appropriate. Actions meant to ensure better access to those in need, and coordination with the parties to the conflict (humanitarian Civil-Military coordination) will also be prioritised, promoting humanitarian principles throughout.

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• The food assistance supported in WCA should address the most acute and urgent food needs not covered otherwise (national responses), primarily in IPC/CH Phase 4+, where relevant (with aggravating factors) in IPC/CH Phase 3 areas, and in areas where food gaps not captured by IPC/CH are identified (hard-to-reach/under blockade areas). The RRM and post-RRM response will be implemented where newly displaced populations are, as a first emergency response. If the IPC/CH does not provide disaggregated food security analysis at a sufficiently narrow level, for example in and out of refugee camps or administrative level, partners are

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• expected to provide more specific food security/multisectoral analysis to support a response strategy, especially if these camps/camp like settings are situated in a broader area that is not in IPC/CH Phase 3+. In addition to farmers, other affected groups such as the most vulnerable pastoralists/herders whose livelihoods are or may be compromised and/or who rely on extreme survival coping strategies that compromise their dignity and life, can be integrated into the response when the risks and needs of this specific group are clearly assessed and documented.

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• First, DG ECHO will prioritise rapid humanitarian food assistance to newly forcibly displaced people or people caught in areas under blockade through multisector Rapid Response Mechanisms (RRM). DG ECHO emphasizes in its definition of rapid response the centrality of timeliness as an essential element for it to be lifesaving. Since food assistance is a central component of RRM, it should ideally be delivered within the first 7 to 15 days. Post-RRM assistance needs to be duly justified based on a vulnerability assessment. Post-RRM assistance should also include the most food insecure households of the host population in IPC/CH Phase

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• 4+ areas and preferably be paired with emergency livelihoods interventions.

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• Secondly, DG ECHO will support the lean season response in critical situations (IPC/CH Phase 4+) and, depending on resources, in other IPC/CH 3+ areas with aggravating factors such as conflicts, blockades, and hazards.

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• Thirdly, where appropriate, DG ECHO will consider funding emergency livelihood (ELVH) support actions with a clear focus on rapidly increasing direct food consumption for the most crisis-affected within the timeframe of the project.

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• The primary target of EIE actions is conflict-affected, displaced out-of-school children (OOSC) in camps and host communities, with a preference for areas lacking other investments. The objective is to restore and maintain access to safe and high-quality education (at the compulsory basic level by national legislation). Proposals should focus on a package of essential activities to achieve key and measurable outcomes such as transition, completion/progression and learning.

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• Logistics and support to humanitarian operations

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• ECHO aims to maintain and extend/accelerate the sharing of our partners’ capacities (“mutualisation” or pooling) including (but not limited to): procurement, HR, logistics services and assets as well as field infrastructure. ECHO will continue to promote the use of available asset-sharing services such as HULO, the HI/Atlas Logistique set-up and the Logistics Cluster.

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• Additionally, humanitarian aviation services will be supported to allow safe and secure access for the implementation of life-saving field operations and to provide evacuation flights when needed (CASEVAC and security relocation).

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• Humanitarian responders in the WCA region face consistent needs for logistics support services, such as procurement, transport and infrastructure. However, the current funding

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• environment requires a great emphasis on pooling assets and resources as stronglyrecommended in the ECHO Logistics Policy. This is true for all projects and not just those related specifically to logistics. All ECHO partners are strongly encouraged to share capacities such as office space, IT support, procurement and transport services as well as vehicle fleets and warehouses.

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• Humanitarian aviation services may also see some changes due to the current funding downturn. This may require a strengthened focus on land rather than air access while assuringadequate safety and security measures for staff. Should humanitarian air services become less available due to funding challenges, financial resources will need to be retained to explore alternative transport options for passengers and cargo.

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• In addition to the resources of this HIP, DG ECHO can also mobilise under other instruments, such as ReliefEU, an emergency response tool designed to cover unforeseen humanitarian needs emerging after the adoption of the Worldwide Decision that cannot be immediately covered by geographic or regional HIPs. ReliefEU supports humanitarian partners’ operations in the form of emergency funding or operational capacities, to provide effective, efficient, and timely assistance to people in need, ahead of a predictable hazard through early response, in the aftermath of a disaster (natural or human-induced including epidemics) and in protracted crises where operational gaps are identified.

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Partner eligibility

• Seuls les partenaires d’ECHO peuvent soumettre un projet en vue d’un financement28;

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• Aucune subvention ne sera accordée aux organisations non gouvernementales partenaires qui n’ont pas respecté leurs obligations en ce qui concerne la présentation d’états financiers audités (c’est-à-dire qui n’auraient pas soumis ceux-ci en temps utile à la Commission sans justification appropriée) ou qui ne semblent pas offrir de garanties suffisantes quant à leur capacité financière à mettre en œuvre les actions proposées (compte tenu de leurs ratios de liquidité et d’indépendance tels qu’ils ressortent de leurs derniers comptes statutaires annuels disponibles certifiés par un auditeur externe agréé).

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• Toutes les subventions octroyées en utilisant des fonds de l’UE doivent respecter les mesures de conditionnalité29 émises en vertu de toute décision d’exécution du Conseil adoptée conformément à l’article 6 du règlement (UE) 2020/2092 relatif à un régime général de conditionnalité pour la protection du budget de l’Union30 («décision relative à la conditionnalité»).

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• La Commission notifie par la présente aux demandeurs au titre du présent HIP/TA la décision de conditionnalité suivante (valable à la date de publication de la présente HIP/TA) :

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• 28 Les listes des partenaires de la DG ECHO sont disponibles à l’adresse suivante :[Partenaires humanitaires — Commission européenne](https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/partnerships/humanitarian-partners_en).

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• Pour les partenariats programmatiques, voir les partenaires éligibles de la DG ECHO dans le Guide des partenariats programmatiques 2024 de la DG ECHO, disponible à l’adresse suivante :[https://www.dgecho-partners-helpdesk.eu/reference- documents-ngo](https://www.dgecho-partners-helpdesk.eu/reference-documents-ngo).

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• 29 Les mesures de conditionnalité prises à l’encontre d’une entité concernée peuvent inclure, entre autres, l’obligation de: suspendre les paiements ou l’exécution de l’engagement juridique envers/avec l’entité concernée; et/ou mettre fin à l’engagement juridique avec l’entité concernée; et/ou interdire la conclusion de nouveaux engagements juridiques avec l’entité concernée. Les décisions de conditionnalité et les mesures adoptées en vertu de décisions d’exécution du Conseil peuvent avoir une incidence sur la mise en œuvre des subventions, des contributions et des marchés attribués, étant donné que la Commission est tenue de veiller à

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• l’application de ces décisions et mesures en matière de conditionnalité dans le cadre de l’exécution du budget de l’UE en gestion tant directe qu’indirecte.

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• 30 Règlement (UE, Euratom) 2020/2092 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 16 décembre 2020 relatif à un régime général de conditionnalité pour la protection du budget de l’Union (JO L 433I du 22.12.2020, p. 1-10).

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• 32 Loi IX de 2021 sur les fondations de confiance d’intérêt public investies d’une mission de service public (entrée en vigueur 01/01/2023).

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• 33 Disponible (en hongrois) à l’adresse suivante :[https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/2021-9-00-00](https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/2021-9-00-00)

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• Décision d’exécution (UE) 2022/2506 du Conseil du 15 décembre 2022 relative à des mesures pour la protection du budget de l’Union contre les violations des principes de l’état de droit en Hongrie31.

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• La présente décision relative à la conditionnalité, en particulier son article 2, paragraphe 2, interdit les engagements juridiques en gestion directe et indirecte avec toute fiducie d’intérêt public établie par la loi hongroise IX de 202132, y compris les entités énumérées à l’annexe I de la loi hongroise IX de 202133 et les autres entités affiliées qu’elles détiennent (ci-après les «entités concernées»). La Commission informera en outre la levée des mesures de conditionnalité susmentionnées.

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Apply the round-specific restrictions below together with the complete partner and award conditions.

Allocation rounds and submission dates

Official documents and versions

• HIP version 5 ↗ Version 5 · document read · 4 Nov 2026, 09:59 UTC
• Technical annex version 5 (FR) ↗ Version 5 · document read · 4 Nov 2026, 09:59 UTC

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