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The crises the Sahel faces, whether they be of a humanitarian, environmental, or security nature, are all rooted in the inequality and profound sense of injustice that permeate Sahelian societies.

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.

Good news but governments and UN should not take the foot off the gas

Musician Baaba Maal visited Mauritania where a food crisis now affects one in four people across the country. Oxfam is calling for urgent interventions to avoid the worst over the coming months, as well as long-term investments to strengthen the resilience of populations.

Floods and heavy rains across Niger have destroyed crops less than two months before harvest, compounding the country's existing food crisis. Flooding has killed at least six people, left thousands homeless, ruined crops and forced hungry families to crisis point.

The World Food Program (WFP) in Niger, the country worst-hit by the West Africa food crisis, has been forced to make an "agonizing" decision to abandon plans to provide emergency food to families with children over the age of two because of a huge funding shortfall.

The international community's record on protecting civilians in 2010 was uneven and often biased, according to a new report published today by international agency Oxfam. Thousands of civilians were killed in conflicts last year alone while millions were displaced from their homes.

Civilians still are at risk in Darfur, aid agency says El Fateh Osman, Oxfam's country director in Sudan said:

The amount of money needed for UN humanitarian appeals involving extreme weather events like floods or drought is now eight times higher than 20 years ago — and donors are failing to keep up, reveals a new Oxfam brief today. For every $2 needed for UN weather-related appeals, donor countries are only providing $1.

One in five people (282m) is now under-nourished and 93 million in 36 African countries are suffering extreme levels of hunger. Women and children are hit hardest. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in three children under five is stunted by chronic undernutrition while two out of five women of childbearing age is anemic because of poor diets.