Sahel Region Food Crisis

Due to erratic rainfall in the region, a food and nutritional crisis is unfolding in the Sahel region of West Africa. The worst-affected countries are Niger, Chad and Mali, where erratic rains and an attack of pests and locusts destroyed entire harvests, leaving families with nothing to eat through this year’s hungry season. Malnutrition rates in the region have been above the acceptable threshold for several years and are now reaching emergency levels. 

The governments of Niger, Mali and Chad have all declared a disaster and have appealed for international help. If action is taken now, there is still time to prevent more families from plunging into a humanitarian disaster, and to provide urgently-needed assistance to those already in crisis.

In some areas families have already exhausted their food supplies and are selling their animals and household items to buy food. Without animals like goats and cows to provide milk and cheese, families lose a vital source of nutrition, putting children further at risk of malnutrition and stunting, and leaving families without a source of income. In Tillabéry, Niger, the food crisis has forced 19,000 children to drop out of school.

CARE is targeting aid towards individuals in areas hit hardest by the crisis. In Niger, where gaps remain between humanitarian response and the escalating need for aid, CARE is focusing on providing nutritional assistance as well as building resiliency to continued food insecurity. 

CARE has been present in the affected countries for decades. In Chad for example, CARE has been working to reinforce livelihoods and promote food security among the country’s most vulnerable people. CARE continues to support access to clean water and sanitation, as well as improved livelihoods for both refugees and the host community in Eastern Chad with the view to increasing self-reliance and food security among this vulnerable population.