Algeria — humanitarian situation

Algeria continues to serve as a destination, transit, and host country within complex mixed migration flows across North Africa, while simultaneously managing protracted displacement and emerging environmental pressures. The Western Mediterranean Route has seen a substantial increase, with recorded movements expanding by 75 percent year-to-date through April 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, contrasting sharply with declines on other Mediterranean routes (UNHCR). The UK recently announced £9 million in expanded programming across North Africa to support migrants who have fled regional conflicts in rebuilding their lives closer to home, including assistance with local employment integration benefiting both displaced populations and host communities (UK Government). Migration movements across Libya's borders, which have direct implications for Algeria's southern frontier, declined 8 percent inward and 17 percent outward during the first quarter of 2026, attributed to seasonal factors, Ramadan-related slowdowns, heightened security patrols, and increased transportation costs (IOM). Algeria has hosted Sahrawi refugees from Western Sahara since 1975 in camps near Tindouf in the country's southwestern desert. The 2024 Food Security Assessment found that over 80 percent of the camp population depends on humanitarian food assistance for survival, with 6.5 percent severely food insecure (WFP). The harsh, isolated desert environment severely limits self-reliance opportunities, making populations highly reliant on external aid. UNICEF and UNHCR provided incentive payments to 1,287 primary and lower secondary teachers during the first half of 2025 to address critical educator shortages in the camps (UNICEF). Above-normal rainfall is forecast for northern Africa from July onwards, with widespread precipitation expected to continue through the latter half of 2026 as El Niño conditions persist alongside a developing positive Indian Ocean Dipole (FAO). Desert locust activity has been documented, with a few immature adult groups and scattered hoppers observed in Algeria during May, though the primary concern remains concentrated in neighboring Morocco where numerous hopper groups have formed (FAO). Ground control operations in Algeria treated 16 hectares in early May as part of regional monitoring efforts (FAO).