Sahelian West Africa - Malnutrition
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Regional Team: SWAN
Disaster Declared: Multiple
Brief Description: Poor rainfall and desert locust damage to crops and pasture lands during the 2004 agricultural season resulted
in crop production shortfalls, livestock attrition, and record high grain prices throughout Sahelian West Africa. Increased food
insecurity has exacerbated chronic poverty and household vulnerability in Niger, Mauritania, Mali, and Burkina Faso, leaving an estimated
3.7 million people in need of food assistance as of September 2005. Despite an excellent regional harvest in October 2005, food insecurity
persists in certain localized areas. Moreover, malnutrition rates throughout the Sahel, which have exceeded emergency thresholds for more
than 10 years, remain at critical levels. The continuing impact of 2005's elevated food insecurity along with persistently high rates of
malnutrition across the region pose a significant threat to the health, welfare, and long-term development prospects of the affected
countries.
In response to the 2004/2005 desert locust invasion, OFDA provided more than $11 million to support locust control efforts
throughout the Sahel. In FY 2004 and FY 2005, OFDA also contributed nearly $4 million to support regional emergency nutrition,
food security, agriculture, and income-generation programs.
FY2006
- 02-23-2006 Sahelian West Africa Situation Report #1(90kb PDF)(map)
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