Food crisis in Africa’s Western Sahel

29/03/2012

The Sahel region of West Africa is an area of growing concern for humanitarian organizations. Erratic rainfall, endemic poverty, dangerously low food reserves, and rising market prices are combining to create an escalating crisis. According to the latest UN estimates, more than 10 million people in the region are at risk of hunger. Early warning signs are clear and history shows that ignoring them will only increase and prolong the suffering of affected communities

West Africa Food Crisis

In Chad, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and the Gambia, national governments have declared an emergency, and are appealing for help from the international community.

We must learn from the famine of 2011 in East Africa. While the public’s response was extremely generous, most humanitarian agencies were not as quick to mobilize as they could have been had the alarm been sounded earlier.

A review of the international emergency response to the crisis offered incontrovertible confirmation of the need to intervene earlier to avoid a full-blown catastrophe. A joint report (A Dangerous Delay ) issued in January 2012 by Oxfam and Save the Children provides an insightful road-map for improving the timeliness and effectiveness of relief aid.

Together, the member agencies of the Humanitarian Coalition (CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec, Plan Canada, Save the Children Canada) are heeding the report’s foremost recommendation: Act decisively and early. With long histories in the Sahel region, they are already present and hard at work in the countries worst affected by the unfolding food shortage crisis.

To find out more about what the member agencies of the Humanitarian Coalition are doing to respond to the situation, or to make a donation to support their efforts, please visit their websites at the links below. And tell a friend!

To stay informed of the situation, visit our member’s website regularly by following the links above and follow us on twitter at @humcoalition.


Click on the image below to see a map and key indicators of the crisis.