Action Against Hunger UK/ACF International is calling for urgent support for the 15 million people facing food insecurity in the Sahel region.
According to the latest regional analysis, 15 million people in six countries of the Sahel region are currently food insecure, with just under four million requiring immediate assistance. These countries include the Gambia, Senegal, southern Mauritania, central Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Algeria and Niger as well as northern Nigeria and Cameroon, central Chad, southern Sudan, and northern South Sudan.
These numbers are expected to rise from 15 to 17 million during the ‘lean season’, which starts in June, with those in need of immediate assistance rising from four to six million. More than five million children are at risk of acute malnutrition in the Sahel in 2014, with 1.5 million facing severe acute malnutrition.
“We are very concerned about the severity of food insecurity in parts of the Sahel and the limited donor response to date. The levels of need we are seeing once again point out the fragility and precariousness of the most vulnerable households in the region, difficulty recovering from past crises and the increasing erosion of their resilience and coping mechanisms,” said Anais Lafite, regional representative for Action Against Hunger in West Africa
Just under four million people require immediate assistance, a figure likely to rise to six million between June and October, which is also known as the ‘lean season’. The start of the so-called ‘lean season’ puts pressure on already vulnerable populations as crops run out before new harvests are ready, food stocks and other household resources are low, and heavy rains mean that the risk of water-borne diseases like cholera and ebola increases.
Any sudden rise in food prices or the arrival of people displaced by insecurity in northern Nigeria or the Central African Republic, for example, could push people into crisis. The organisation has been working in the Sahel for up to eight years, implementing measures that reduce the impact of the lean season on affected populations.
Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.
