7/31/2019 WFP - 8 Questions Answered

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Sahel Crisis: 8 Questions AnsweredPublished on 04 April 2012

For the third time in a decade, drought in

the Sahel region of Africa is threateningmillions of people with hunger. But how do

people survive in these situations and what

are we doing to help them? Here are the

answers to eight questions about the

current hunger crisis in the Sahel and

WFP's response to it. Copyright: WFP/Shannon Howard

1. Why are people going hungry in the Sahel?

The rains only come once per year in the African Sahel and last year, they were patchy and late. That’s a recipe for disaster in a part of the world where most people live on what they can grow. When the rains don’t come on time,

harvests fail, animals die and people start going hungry.

2. Which countries have been hit by the drought? The drought is affecting a huge swath of territory that covers parts of Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso,Senegal, Gambia, Cameroon and northern Nigeria.

3. In addition to drought, what other factors have led to a food crisis in the Sahel? Bad harvests this year have driven up the price of food at a time of year when it’s usually more affordable. High fuelcosts and pest infestations haven’t helped.

Huge Humanitarian Needs

The humanitarian needs in the Sahel region of WestAfrica are huge and the time for action is now. WFPand partners have launched a regional response to

reach more than 9 million people with foodassistance.

Malnutrition threat: WFP plans to provide specialfood assistance to 1.45 million of the children most inneed, using products such as Plumpy’sup to preventmalnutrition.

Q&A: See what our nutrition team in West Africa sayin this Q&A

4. How do small farmers survive when they don’tgrow enough food? During hard times, families will often sell land oranimals in order to buy food. That’s called a “negativecoping strategy” because it leaves them poorer andmore likely to go hungry in the long-term. When theyrun out of things to sell, families have little choice butto move to the cities or abroad in search of work.

5. Are droughts common in the Sahel? Yes and they’re becoming even more common withclimate change. This is the third drought to hit theSahel in less than a decade. Particularly in Niger,

many families haven’t yet fully recovered from the lastdrought in 2010 and have even less to fall back onnow than they did then.

6. How is the situation in the Sahel this yeardifferent from droughts in the past? Whereas droughts in 2005 and 2010 were felt most inNiger and parts of Chad, the food crisis this year isunfolding across the entire region, from Chad in theeast all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover,

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food prices in the region are much higher than they were in 2010.

7. If this crisis is different, how is WFP responding differently? In countries like Niger where food markets are holding up, WFP is providing hungry people with vouchers and cashthat they can use to buy food at local markets. This helps the local economy and gives people a greater variety offood to choose from. WFP will also be buying much of the food it distributes from countries near to the Sahel, to cutdown on the amount of time it takes to get to the people who need it.

8. How can we prevent droughts in the Sahel from causing food crises in the future? The Sahel is an arid place prone to frequent droughts and yet most of the people who live there depend on rain -fedagriculture. Teaching people how to harvest rainwater in ponds and grow drought-resistant crops can help them toget through bouts of dry weather. Another way to stave off hunger are village granaries where families can borrowgrain during the lean season and then "repay" it at the next harvest.

Mali: Impact of fighting

WFP is monitoring the evolving security situation in northern Mali and the impact onneighbouring countries. Recent fighting has caused around 200,000 people to fleetheir homes and seek refuge both inside Mali and across Malian borders inMauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria. WFP is supporting displaced people,refugees and their host communities in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritaniathrough new and ongoing projects. Read story

From: http://www.wfp.org/stories/sahel-crisis-8-questions-answered