Sahel
Regional Team: SWAN
Brief Description: In 2004, an early end to the rains and desert locust damage to pasture lands adversely affected pasture availability and cereal production in Sahelian West Africa. These events exacerbated existing poverty and vulnerabilities and resulted in elevated food insecurity in agro-pastoral and pastoral zones in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. The situation in Niger is considered to be an emergency, with more than 3 million people affected. In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania, more than 2 million people are affected, and the situation in these countries warrants close monitoring. Regional assessments have used the word "affected" to impart that this population was impacted in some way by either locust infestation or the early cessation of rains. Affected populations have varying levels of humanitarian needs. Some may require food distributions, while others may require little or no assistance of any kind. USAID recognizes that endemic poverty and underdevelopment are critical factors contributing to the current humanitarian emergency and is committed to addressing these factors through an appropriate combination of USAID development and humanitarian assistance.
FY2005
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