Mali Crisis Worsens West Africa Food Crisis | Special Section | World | Epoch Times
West Africa’s Sahel region is facing a massive food shortage, with as many as 15 million people facing hunger or starvation, a high-level United Nations official said.
The recent clashes between Tuareg-led rebels and the Malian government have worsened the food insecurity in the Sahel region, a belt-like area that stretches across Africa, from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Tens of thousands of people have fled Mali to nearby countries such as Niger, where food is in short supply.
“In this case, the crisis is different than it’s ever been in the past,” said Ertharin Cousin, the Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP), referring to crises in 2005 and 2010. “It’s even more complicated because of the evolving conflict situation in Mali as well as the high food prices,” she said in a press release.
Cousin said around 35,000 refugees have poured into Niger from Mali in the past several months, exacerbating problems caused by a rain shortfall and failed harvest in the region. The lean season, which technically starts in June, has already started for some families.
“Because the rains failed last season, what you’re seeing is that the hungry poor, the most vulnerable populations, are now at the point where they have depleted their assets,” Cousin said.
However, with the political situation in Mali still in flux, the U.N. expects even more people to cross into Niger.
“My father gave me a goat that I sold to pay for transportation from Menaka (in eastern Mali) to Niger, but it was not enough for all of us so I left my three youngest children with my cousins,” Mariama, 47, was quoted as saying by the U.N.
“We could not stay in Menaka as my family members are also having problems to feed their own families; we just did not want to be an extra burden.”
Ousseini, a 30-year-old Malian teacher, said he was forced to sell some goats and a television to get enough money to take himself, his wife, son, and seven nephews to the Mangaize camp in Niger. “We left because of insecurity, but also because I have not been paid since February,” he said.
Around 1 million children risk starving to death in the near future in the Sahel region if the international community idles, the U.N. said.
The Sahel is the transitional point between the Sudanian Savannas in the south and the Sahara desert, and cuts across Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan including Darfur, and Eritrea.
Niger is the worst affected country in the region, Cousin said. The WFP has begun an emergency operation to feed 3.3 million people in Niger, focusing on children under two.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
West Africa’s Sahel region is facing a massive food shortage, with as many as 15 million people facing hunger or starvation, a high-level United Nations official said.
The recent clashes between Tuareg-led rebels and the Malian government have worsened the food insecurity in the Sahel region, a belt-like area that stretches across Africa, from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Tens of thousands of people have fled Mali to nearby countries such as Niger, where food is in short supply.
“In this case, the crisis is different than it’s ever been in the past,” said Ertharin Cousin, the Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP), referring to crises in 2005 and 2010. “It’s even more complicated because of the evolving conflict situation in Mali as well as the high food prices,” she said in a press release.
Cousin said around 35,000 refugees have poured into Niger from Mali in the past several months, exacerbating problems caused by a rain shortfall and failed harvest in the region. The lean season, which technically starts in June, has already started for some families.
“Because the rains failed last season, what you’re seeing is that the hungry poor, the most vulnerable populations, are now at the point where they have depleted their assets,” Cousin said.
However, with the political situation in Mali still in flux, the U.N. expects even more people to cross into Niger.
“My father gave me a goat that I sold to pay for transportation from Menaka (in eastern Mali) to Niger, but it was not enough for all of us so I left my three youngest children with my cousins,” Mariama, 47, was quoted as saying by the U.N.
“We could not stay in Menaka as my family members are also having problems to feed their own families; we just did not want to be an extra burden.”
Ousseini, a 30-year-old Malian teacher, said he was forced to sell some goats and a television to get enough money to take himself, his wife, son, and seven nephews to the Mangaize camp in Niger. “We left because of insecurity, but also because I have not been paid since February,” he said.
Around 1 million children risk starving to death in the near future in the Sahel region if the international community idles, the U.N. said.
The Sahel is the transitional point between the Sudanian Savannas in the south and the Sahara desert, and cuts across Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan including Darfur, and Eritrea.
Niger is the worst affected country in the region, Cousin said. The WFP has begun an emergency operation to feed 3.3 million people in Niger, focusing on children under two.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
