Millions Face Hunger in West Africa, Urgent Aid Needed, UN Food Agency Warns
New York, Jun 20 2005 10:00AM
Millions of farmers and herders in West Africa are threatened with hunger due to last year's drought and locust
invasion, severe child malnutrition is reportedly on the rise and immediate aid is needed to prevent the crisis from
deteriorating further, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.
“The situation is getting worse in the affected areas and unless aid comes now, hundred of thousands of people will be
suffering the consequences for years to come,” the chief of FAO's Emergency Operations Service, Fernanda Guerrieri, said
of the crisis which is especially acute in Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
“Farmers and herders who have lost their livelihoods because of drought and the locust invasion are living in poverty
with very limited access to food,” she added.
Farmers need seeds and agricultural inputs immediately to ensure the October 2005 harvest. Herders depend on animal feed
distributions and veterinary services to keep their weakened animals alive. FAO has appealed for $11.4 million for
emergency projects in the region. Projects in some countries are already operational but more funds are urgently needed.
According to recent estimates, the sub-Saharan Sahel region as a whole registered a grain surplus of 85,000 tons, but
Niger and Chad suffered grain deficits of around 224,000 and 217,000 tons, respectively. An increase in food prices is
fuelling the food crisis, especially in Mali, Mauritania and Niger, where millions of people are at risk of food
shortages, the agency said.
In Mauritania, FAO emergency projects are bringing assistance to hundreds of thousands of people.
Fortunately, the locust situation is expected to remain relatively calm this summer in West Africa and, contrary to last
year, swarms from Northwest Africa are not likely to invade the region this year.
But in the most affected areas in Mali, Mauritania and Niger, access to food staples is increasingly difficult and
severe child malnutrition is reported to be on the rise. The scarcity of water and fodder is seriously affecting the
health of the cattle, camels, sheep and goats that are the only source of food and income for nomadic communities.
Competition for limited resources has sometimes resulted in local conflicts.
ENDS