Sahel

On the eve of the 2012 African Cup of Nations, more than 25 footballers have spoken out in solidarity with millions of people facing hunger across their region.

The Sahel Working Group, a consortium of International NGOs, today launched a report evaluating the responses to the 2005 and 2010 food crises, concluding that the Sahel is “in a state of permanent crisis” requiring smarter and earlier investment in the region.

This report by the Sahel Working Group discusses the chronic food and nutrition crisis across countries in the Sahel.

Given the rapid expansion and recurrence of the food crises in West Africa and the inadequate responses of policy makers and other actors, Oxfam and Bilital Maroobe say it is necessary to rethink the strategies to implement in order to respond to these recurring disasters.

Insufficient funding and delays in food delivery threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands in the Sahel belt of West Africa. There is little excuse for the lack of adequate funding and delays – the international community had been warned of the magnitude of the unfolding crisis for months.

Ten leading aid agencies today called for a 'surge' in the humanitarian effort to help 10 million people at risk of acute hunger across the Sahel region of West and Central Africa.

International aid agency Oxfam welcomes the European Commission’s new aid package of 24 million euros for Niger and other countries in the Sahel region of West Africa, which was announced today in Brussels.

Almost 10 million people across the Sahel region of West Africa are threatened with a severe food shortage. Oxfam calls for urgent response to warning signs.