West Africa food insecurity

Countries in the northwest region of Africa are facing severe food insecurity because of poor rainfall since 2009 and crop failures. Most affected are Niger, Chad and Mali, but the effects are also being felt in the northern parts of Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

Almost 6 million Nigeriens – nearly half the entire population – are facing shortages of food and feed for livestock. Hardest hit are the nomadic pastoralists in northern Niger. The pastoralists are livestock herders. A CARE survey found that some had already sold off their smaller animals months before they normally would in order to try and preserve their herds. In other areas pastoralists were already selling off their larger animals as well – at only 3 per cent of their normal value.

As always, women bear the burnt of the emergency. In Niger, it is the women who implement household coping strategies during food crises. Women, for example, are responsible for rationing meals or for harvesting leaves and wild fruits to supplement the family’s diet. When all this isn’t enough, it is the small animals – the women’s savings – which are sold to buy food.

What is CARE doing?

In partnership with the World Food Program, CARE has begun distribution of 13.2 tonnes of rice and sorghum to 132 vulnerable households. In the coming days, CARE will distribute some 2,000 tonnes of grain to more than 18,000 households in 623 villages.

CARE is providing over $100,000 in cash for work opportunities. And we continue to empower Nigeriens, especially women, to develop their own strategies for overcoming the emergency through village savings and loans programs. Read about these resilient women.

What can you do?

Although food prices continue to rise, right now $60 will buy 100kg of millet – enough to supply one household for a month. Three dollars a day will provide a cash-for-work opportunity for one individual.

You can help CARE provide food and livelihoods for people affected by food emergencies like the one in Northwest Africa by donating to the CARE today.