West Africa Food Crisis

In 2012 the Sahel region of West Africa is once again likely to face a serious food crisis that could, if early and effective action is not taken, prove as costly to lives and livelihoods as the past food crises in 2005, 2008 and 2010, which affected more than 10 million people. Oxfam is hoping to reach 700,000 people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger with humanitarian aid.

Yet early recognition of the coming crisis also provides an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of the past, enabling action months earlier than in previous crises. By investing now in earlier and more cost-effective actions, vulnerable populations can be protected from the worst impacts of the coming crisis at a much lower cost than if we waited.

The response should not stop at meeting emergency needs; it needs also to tackle the underlying causes of crises like this to prevent them recurring. By investing more in longer-term interventions to reduce the people’s vulnerability to external shocks, we can work to break the hunger cycle in the Sahel.

Donate

Please consider helping fund our emergency work in West Africa. These Oxfam affiliates are running direct appeals:

• Oxfam GB
  
• Oxfam Novib (Netherlands)
• Intermón Oxfam (Spain)

Alternatively, you can make a donation to the general emergency fund of your nearest national Oxfam affiliate. Your money will be used to fund our emergency work worldwide, which includes responding in countries such as Niger, Mali and Chad.

The situation in the Sahel

Early warning systems have identified a range of factors that are contributing to the coming crisis. Low rainfall and water levels, poor harvests and lack of pasture, high food prices and a drop in remittances from migrants are all causing serious problems.

According to national early warning systems, cereal production is down compared to the five year average, with Mauritania and Chad showing deficits of over 50% compared to last year. National food reserves are dangerously low, while prices of some key cereals are up to 40% higher than the five year average.

While evaluations are still ongoing to identify those at most risk, early reports suggest six million people in Niger and 2.9 million people in Mali live in areas vulnerable to the coming crisis, while in Mauritania 700,000 people – over one-quarter of the population – are reported as at risk of severe food insecurity. In Burkina Faso, official estimates are to be released soon but are likely to include over two million people at risk of being directly affected. In Chad, 13 out of 22 regions could be affected by food insecurity.

What Oxfam is doing

Oxfam is gearing up its work to address immediately the needs of the most vulnerable people. We're working to help communities increase their resilience to the coming crisis, we are getting ready to provide food assistance. Oxfam is targeting to reach 700,000 people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger with humanitarian aid.

In Burkina Faso Oxfam has already started a response, with the support of ECHO, to help 50,000 people access food. In the Gorgol region of Mauritania, 1,300 women, as part of cooperatives, are benefiting from irrigation systems which pump water from the river for their vegetable gardens.

While an early response to the coming crisis is crucial to protect people in 2012, Oxfam has warned that preventing future crises would require action to address the root causes and provide longer-term support for the poorest people in a region where 300,000 children die from malnutrition-related diseases in a ‘non-crisis’ year.

Read more

Blog: Hunger calls in Africa’s Sahel region

Report: Escaping the Hunger Cycle: Pathways to resilience in the Sahel (November 2011)

Story: Oxfam's humanitarian program of destocking cattle in Niger

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/technology/for-founders-to-decorators-...