Christian Aid urges response to West African food crisis
More than 18 million people in the Sahel region of Western Africa are in need of urgent support as the region’s longstanding food shortages escalate into a severe crisis. Among them, more than one million children are at risk of acute malnutrition.
A combination of severe drought, high grain prices, environmental degradation and political instability have caused diminished food production in vulnerable communities in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Senegal, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, which depend mainly on farming for sustenance.
‘The international community has begun to respond but we urgently need to address a huge gap in funding for aid projects aimed at preventing the deepening food crisis in the Sahel’, says Niall O’Rourke, Emergency Officer of Christian Aid , recently returned to Ireland from Burkina Faso.
‘Donor countries must urgently provide the estimated $538m funding gap to meet the conservative UN–estimate of $1.04bn needed now to prevent the food crisis. The longer these funds are delayed, the more costly the response effort and the more dangerous the situation for the people affected. Without a prompt and effective intervention, there is high risk that this will develop into an extreme crisis by July 2012.’ Niall warns.
Christian Aid is currently working through local partner organisations in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – three of the worst affected countries – to save lives and prevent the loss of livelihoods. Our efforts are aimed at responding to the gravity of the current situation, while building on our work in the region following the 2010 flooding. Christian Aid is currently providing assistance to people directly affected by the food crisis, including internally displaced people and refugees.
Our work includes food distribution, treatment for malnourished children and training on how to prevent malnutrition for their mothers. We are also running cash–for–work schemes in Mali and Niger and the most vulnerable families will receive seeds and support to prepare their land to withstand the drought. Within the pastoralist communities, Christian Aid is training pastoralists in the destocking of animals (slaughter for sale of most malnourished livestock at a time when pasture is scarce).
We urgently need to scale up the assistance being provided to local and refugee populations across the Sahel before the crisis reaches its peak so that we can address the needs of the most vulnerable communities in terms of preventable hunger and malnutrition.
To donate to Christian Aid’s West Africa Food Crisis Appeal please visit the donor webpage here or call 01 775 8080 (Republic of Ireland) or 028 9064 8133 (Northern Ireland).