Low graphics   |   Mobile      Login   |   About us      
Wed, 20:25 18 Nov 2009 GMT17

 
W. African food crisis

Last reviewed: 08-02-2007

POVERTY FUELS CHRONIC VULNERABILITY


The Sahel region of semi-arid land stretching eastwards from Senegal and Mauritania through Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad has suffered chronic food shortages driven by extreme poverty since the early 1970s.

  • Poor rains and locusts fuelled 2005 crisis
  • Situation stabilising but still precarious
  • Long-term support required

    In mid-2005, a massive international relief operation swung into action in response to a renewed hunger crisis in the region, focusing on Niger, officially the poorest country in the world, according to the U.N. Development Programme.

    The intervention was launched amid estimates that some 8 million people in Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso were facing catastrophic food shortages, caused in part by poor rains in 2004 combined with a plague of locusts.

    The destruction of pasture land by the locusts weakened cattle and goats, leading to a collapse in the price of livestock. At the same time the poor harvest and fierce market pressures tripled grain prices in some areas. Hundreds of thousands of families were left dangerously short of food.

    The governments of Mali and Mauritania responded with food distributions. In Niger, the authorities decided to subsidise food prices, but the strategy failed because so many people could not afford even the lower prices. The government eventually allowed free food.

    Both the domestic and international aid response combined with a decent harvest in August and September to restore some stability by the end of the year, and the situation further stabilised in 2006 following another good rainy season.

    The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet) said the food security outlook for the Sahel in 2007 was generally good, citing production estimates in all countries of average to above-average cereal harvests.

    Nevertheless, areas of Niger and eastern Chad and southern Chad still face localized food insecurity, it said. "In addition, while persistently high rates of acute malnutrition - rooted in poor care practices, poor water and sanitation, a lack of dietary diversity and inadequate healthcare - are likely to improve in the post-harvest period, high rates will reemerge later in 2007."

    By January, a record crop across the Sahel combined with good rainfall had improved the overall situation yet further.

    The World Food Programme (WFP), however, has stressed that millions of children across the region remain threatened by chronic malnutrition.

    Agencies are also warning that donor funds are lacking for the sustained development activities required to lift the region's population out of long-term food insecurity.

    As Oxfam points out on its website, the real cause of the crisis is ultimately chronic poverty, which across the region is only getting worse, exacerbated by years of chronic drought, no employment opportunities when people are not farming (up to six months of the year), lack of access to basic social services, poor government policies, and more recently regional trade barriers.

    "The most marginalised people, pastoralist and to a lesser extent, agro-pastoralist communities, have become locked into a cycle of poverty and debt. Every day is a struggle for survival; so people here are extremely vulnerable to any change in their economic or physical environment," the agency says.

    As a result, NGOs are now trying to focus on longer-term integrated programmes, such as cash distributions and cereal banks. Oxfam has also been vocal in advocating increased spending on agricultural production, as opposed to food and humanitarian aid.

    Further reading:
  • African hunger: A never-ending crisis
  • Famine resource file

    Key statistics


    Number of malnourished people 36.4 million (FAO)
    Percentage of malnourished people in total population 16 percent (FAO)

    Unlike some other content on this website, the written content in this article may be republished or redistributed by any means free of charge. Any use of photographs and graphics on this website is expressly prohibited. You must check whether written content contained in other articles on this website may be republished or redistributed without the express permission of Reuters or the relevant third party provider.

    • Related articles

    Breaking stories
     Asia GLOBAL: Food aid that gets you two for the price of one

    Asia Some African countries not viable - Mo Ibrahim

    AlertNet insight
     Asia Food prices still rising in many poor countries - UN

    Aid agency news feed
     Americas Food Shortage in Guatemala Affects Millions

    Blogs
     Africa Why boosting food output is not enough to beat hunger

    Maps
     Flood Water Identification near the City of Kaolack, Senegal


    AlertNet for journalists

    AlertNet for journalists is a set of tools and services designed to make life easier for reporters, fact-checkers and editors when covering humanitarian emergencies.
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-16T170332Z_01_AFR11_RTRIDSP_2_NIGERIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR11.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-10-27T050130Z_01_POD001_RTRIDSP_2_POD_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/POD001.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-10-05T165044Z_01_LUC06_RTRIDSP_2_GUINEA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LUC06.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-10-05T164747Z_01_LUC05_RTRIDSP_2_GUINEA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LUC05.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-10-05T164519Z_01_LUC04_RTRIDSP_2_GUINEA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LUC04.htm

    Labourers drive a tractor as they harvest sugarcane at a commercial farmland in Numan community, Adamawa State, northeast of Nigeria, November 14, 2009. Africa, Asia and Latin America could see a ...


    More pictures | Galleries

    * Denotes mandatory entry      Rate this item *  
    • Currently 4/5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5


    Name: *     Email: * 
    I am: *     


    Comments:

    Enter the code shown on the left *




    URL: http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/WA_HUN.htm

    For our full disclaimer and copyright information please visit http://www.alertnet.org