Aid to the Church in Need Report Highlights Global Christian Displacement

A new report from the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) warns that millions of Christians are being displaced due to conflict, extremism, and religiously motivated violence. The study, titled "Persecuted and Forgotten?," examined 18 countries between August 2024 and June 2026, finding that conditions for Christians deteriorated in 10 of those nations, with no country showing overall improvement.

Sub-Saharan Africa is identified as a primary area of concern, where attacks by jihadists, bandits, and ethnic groups are altering the religious landscape. In Nigeria, the report estimates that at least one million Christians are among the 3.5 million internally displaced people. Similar patterns of violence, including abductions, church destruction, and forced conversions, are reported in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mozambique. The report highlights that Islamist militants now control approximately 40 percent of Burkina Faso, where Christians face summary executions and strict religious mandates.

ACN officials state that these conditions are creating a mass exodus, turning large regions across Africa and Asia into danger zones. The findings emphasize that the survival of longstanding Christian communities in these areas is increasingly threatened by the ongoing instability.