The Central Sahel – encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – risks being consumed by a lethal mix of escalating armed conflict, the severe impacts of climate change and now the spread of COVID-19.
Families were just barely recovering from the 2018 food crisis, and now the number of internally displaced people has quadrupled to 1.2 million in the last year. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic will strain the region to the breaking point, as its health systems are some of the weakest in the world.
people won't eat enough this year
confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of April 21st
of emergency food rations are needed
Millions of people across the region are in need of urgent, life-saving food.
- 2.1M in Burkina Faso
- 2M in Niger
- 1.3M in Mali
Niger
WFP is providing assistance to the most crisis-affected people - including refugees and internally displaced persons - via food, emergency school meals and specialized nutrition products for children.
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Burkina Faso
Here, WFP operations also include a local yogurt production project, treatment and prevention of malnutrition, small-scale farmer support, and micro and macro-insurance policies.
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Mali
In Mali, 34% of infant deaths are directly related to under-nutrition. WFP provides nutrition assistance to children under 5 who are acutely malnourished and to pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Read more +Survival in the Sahel
It’s always been an unforgiving landscape – hot, dry and sparse – but now families in the region are facing two growing threats at the same time: climate change and conflict. Boko Haram’s campaign of terror has displaced thousands of people as farmers and pastoralists clash over access to shrinking land. This Hacking Hunger episode takes you to Niger, where families are fighting for their lives.
WFP is going beyond food delivery in the Sahel.
It’s investing in activities that improve livelihoods, restore ecosystems, create jobs and build social cohesion. These projects aim to transform lives, end hunger, reduce unsafe migration, educate young people and help families overcome conflict and climate change.
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