Renewed support needed for agricultural support in the Sahel 

By Jose Luis Fernandez,

Coordinator, FAO’s Regional Resilience, Emergency and Rehabilitation Office for West Africa/Sahel (REOWA)

On 3 February 2014, humanitarian partners launched the 2014-2016 Strategic Response Plan for the Sahel in FAO premises in Rome. The launch of the Plan was the culmination of a regional process in which hundreds of partners delivering humanitarian aid in the Sahel countries have come together to assess needs and formulate concerted plans and a unified funding request to UN Member States and donor organizations.

 

For 2014, the Plan includes response strategies to cover the most humanitarian needs of millions of people still affected by food insecurity and malnutrition in the region, including agricultural response. On 2 May 2014, only 13 percent of the required funds for the agricultural component of this appeal were received.

What are the immediate consequences of this lack of funds?

The lacks of adequate funding for emergency agricultural and livelihood support in the Sahel is preventing vulnerable communities who rely on small-scale agriculture to produce their own food. Millions of men and women farmers have to face the next main agricultural campaign (May-October 2014) with depleted or low stocks of food crop seeds, and will therefore cultivate reduced areas of land, or will not even be able to plant at all. Herds are extremely weakened by the lack of adequate food due to deficits in previous months fodder productions. As a consequence they are very vulnerable to diseases and to death.

 

Vulnerable families will rely entirely on markets in the coming months as the lean season, also known as the ‘hunger season’, has already begun. In absence of assistance, the most vulnerable households are forced to reduce quantity and quality of daily meals, reduce their investment in quality inputs, sell their productive assets and become indebted. These negative coping mechanisms threaten their ability to respond to shocks in the short, medium and long term. In particular vulnerable households will be confronted to possible droughts, floods or insecurity in the months to come with low level of adaptative capacities.

We can make a difference

In the past years, millions of vulnerable households have not benefited from adequate support. It is refraining communities from becoming resilient and protecting their livelihoods. Without a renewed commitment of donors and partners to support food production and protect livelihoods, a further deterioration of food security and nutrition can be expected throughout 2014, requiring long-lasting and costly food assistance. In the coming months, other opportunities shall be seized to support food production and protect livelihoods in the region with support to livestock, flood plain recession and off-season agriculture.

 

The food security challenge in the Sahel shall not be forgotten. The remaining needs of the region are enormous and donors and partners still have the opportunity in the coming months to support households affected by food insecurity with support to livestock, flood plain recession and off-season agriculture. Increasing support to the agricultural sector could help vulnerable households break the cycle of poverty and hunger, instead of keeping them dependent on food assistance.

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Malnutrition Sans Frontières

Urgence quasi-permanente dans les zones frontalières du Sénégal et de la Mauritanie

 

Par le service humanitaire de la Commission européenne (ECHO)

Dans les régions sahéliennes du Matam (Sénégal) et du Guidimaka (Mauritanie), de part et d’autre du fleuve Sénégal, la malnutrition aiguë des jeunes enfants dépasse largement les seuils d’urgence. De plus, ces mêmes régions ont été affectées par un manque de pluies et une réduction de la production agricole en 2013 aggravant une insécurité alimentaire sévère qui touche désormais 20% de la population. Ces taux sont comparables aux années de crise de 2008 et 2011.
 

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Crisis in the Sahel: Adolescent Girls Struggle in Mali and Niger

By Plan

Adolescent girls are often the first victims in crisis situations, and the last to receive help afterwards. Plan recognises this and is making an effort to address the needs of victims of last year's conflict in Mali, as well as in Niger, where adolescent girls are often taken from school and married off to help their families during times of drought and food shortage.

 

 

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Pauvreté et vulnérabilité au Sahel : cinq choses à savoir

 Par le Bureau pour la Coordination des Affaires Humanitaires

Le Sahel : c’est une région qui s’étend de l’extrémité occidental du continent Africain jusqu’aux berges de la mer Rouge, en longeant le flanc sud du Sahara et qui figure parmi les plus pauvres et vulnérables au monde.

 

En 2012 et 2013, face à la sécheresse et les conflits qui ravagent la région, la communauté internationale s’est mobilisé afin de venir en aide à des millions d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes vulnérables, ce qui a permis d’éviter une catastrophe de grande envergure.

 

Mais les causes de cette vulnérabilité aigue restent entières. Nombre de communautés de la région, au Sénégal, en Gambie, Mauritanie, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Tchad et au nord du Nigéria et du Cameroun, font toujours face à une situation désespérante.

 

Aujourd’hui, l’Organisations des Nations Unies et les partenaires humanitaires se réunissent à Rome pour lancer une stratégie sur trois ans pour endiguer cette vulnérabilité. Voici cinq points clés pour comprendre la crise que traverse la Sahel et les efforts des organisations humanitaires et de développement pour aider la population à y faire face et à la surmonter.

 

1. Le nombre de personnes qui ne savent pas si elles auront de quoi se nourrir au prochain repas s’est multiplié par deux en un an. Au début de l’année 2013, environ onze millions de personnes se trouvaient en situation d’insécurité alimentaire. Aujourd’hui elles sont plus de 20 millions dont 2,5 millions qui ont besoin d’assistance humanitaire d’urgence pour survivre. Dans le sud-est du Niger par exemple, du fait de la sécheresse, des inondations et du conflit dans le Nigéria voisin, la population de la ville de Diffa ne peut produire suffisamment de nourriture pour subvenir à ses besoins. « Nous n’avons rien mangé depuis dix jours » se lamente Mohamed Dala. « Avant les inondations, je produisais 50 sacs de poivrons ainsi que du mais et du millet ».
2. La sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition sont au cœur de la crise mais d’autres facteurs y contribuent. Cette année, près de cinq millions d’enfants sont en passe de souffrir de malnutrition modérée ou sévère. Dans tout le Sahel, plus 1,2 million de personnes ont fui la violence et l’insécurité, la plupart s’étant réfugié dans des pays alentours et mettent ainsi une pression additionnelle sur les ressources déjà limitées de ces pays. Ces populations sont très vulnérables aux maladies et épidémies. Du fait du manque criant d’infrastructures médicales beaucoup meurent de maladies bénignes.
3. Il faut une nouvelle approche pour rompre ce cycle de la faim et de la vulnérabilité. La crise du Sahel est sévère mais elle n’est pas nouvelle. On ne peut plus répondre au cycle récurrent de crises par un cycle continu d’assistance humanitaire. Robert Piper, le Coordonnateur Humanitaire de l’ONU pour le Sahel s’exprimait en ces termes dès le mois de Septembre dernier : « Nous ne pouvons continuer comme cela, c’est intenable. A moins de changer notre approche, nous allons devoir venir en aide à un très grand nombre de personnes chaque année. » Cette année, l’ONU et les organismes d’aide s’engagent dans une stratégie sur trois ans pour répondre à ces défis de façon plus systématique. Les agences, expertes dans des domaines différents de l’assistance humanitaire tels que la nutrition, la santé ou l’eau et l’assainissement, ont conjointement développé des stratégies communes et complémentaires visant à répondre à la crise de façon globale.
4. Les agences humanitaires travaillent avec les gouvernements ainsi que les acteurs du développement. L’étendue des besoins est telle qu’aucun organisme ne peut y faire face seul. Lors de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU en Septembre dernier, la communauté internationale a adopté une stratégie intégrée pour le Sahel. Celle-ci met en exergue le fait que les besoins humanitaires ne peuvent être adressés indépendamment de considérations sécuritaires et des efforts en matière de développement. Les personnes déplacées par le conflit au nord Mali ont besoin de la paix et la stabilité avant même de recevoir une assistance pour relancer leurs productions agricoles ou reconstruire leurs cliniques. Les gouvernements et les agences du développement ont pour responsabilité de s’attaquer aux causes structurelles de la pauvreté et de l’inégalité qui rendent les populations aussi vulnérables aux chocs externes tels que les catastrophes naturelles et les conflits.
5. Les agences humanitaires se disent convaincues de pouvoir faire la différence. Elles ont besoin pour cela des fonds nécessaires. Cette année, les besoins financiers des quelques 117 organisations qui apportent une assistance humanitaire à des millions de personnes dans neuf pays du Sahel s’élèvent à plus de deux milliards de dollars américains.

Comment seront utilisés ces fonds? Un million de dollars permettrait aux agences de mettre en place une infrastructure de base en eau et assainissement, essentielle à la survie de 40 000 personnes au Tchad. Avec 12,5 millions, la communauté humanitaire au Burkina Faso pourrait apporter une assistance nutritionnelle et médicale à 115 000 enfants souffrant de malnutrition sévère. Pour un peu moins de dix millions, ce sont pas moins de 500 000 enfants qui pourraient retourner à l’école et recevoir une éducation de qualité au nord Mali.

Photos : projet de prise en charge de la malnutrition à Diourbel

Par ECHO et Croix Rouge Française

La malnutrition infantile est un réel problème de santé publique au Sénégal. La région de Diourbel a fait partie des zones en situation nutritionnelle critique, suite à la baisse de la production agricole 2011-2012.Grâce au soutien financier de la Direction générale de l’aide humanitaire et de la protection civile de l’Union européenne (DG ECHO), la Croix-Rouge sénégalaise(CRS) et la Croix-Rouge française (CRF) se sont associées aux autorités sanitaires nationales pour mettre en œuvre un projet de prise en charge de la malnutrition aigüe sévère dans deux districts sanitaires de la région de Diourbel : Touba et Mbacké. Ce projet cofinancé par l’UNICEF couvre désormais tous les districts sanitaires de la région de Diourbel. Ainsi c’est 10 000 enfants de 6-59 mois souffrant de malnutrition aigüe sévère dont 500 qui ont eu des complications médicales, qui ont été pris en charge d’Août 2012 à Octobre 2013.

  

 

Photos disponibles sur http://www.flickr.com/photos/69583224@N05/sets/72157638540306594/

 

Fighting Drought, Building Resilience in the Sahel one Community at a Time

By World Bank

The Senegal River courses through Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal, making its way to the Atlantic Ocean after traversing some of the driest, drought-prone parts of western Africa.

As with any shared water resource, the Senegal River is a major economic, social and cultural lifeline for over 35 million people, 12 million of whom live in its river basin which has a surface area of 300,000 square kilometers.

The US$228.5 million Senegal River Basin Multipurpose Water Resources Development project approved today by the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors marks a new push to alleviate water scarcity and improve farming prospects for millions of people in the four riparian countries. The project is the second phase of a multi-sector, multi-country 10-year program working to bring more food, energy, irrigation and to meet other development targets.

 

 

Boost for Farming

Take rice, a major staple food and preferred cereal of choice across much of western Africa.  Along the banks of the Senegal River and deeper into the delta, cultivating rice is a major occupation and principal source of food and income security for farming communities whose fortunes largely depend on the availability of water for irrigation.

Currently, irrigated farming is limited. Less than half of the Senegal River basin’s irrigation potential, estimated at 375,000 hectares, is developed. Of the 130,000 to 140,000 hectares that are developed, only 90,000 hectares are really usable. The new project will bring irrigation to 13,000 hectares, enhance regional integration and promote multi-purpose water resources development to increase incomes and improve community livelihoods.

Thilene village, in northern Senegal, is an archetypal example of how transformative impact can be achieved by providing farmers with irrigation. There, a new irrigation system fed by the Senegal River is boosting rice production enabling farmers to achieve record rice harvests three times a year.

“In the past we used to have great difficulties accessing water,” said Mamba Diop, an enthusiastic rice farmer. “Today everybody has water, and everybody can farm all year long.  This has increased our revenues; rural-urban migration has stopped because all the young people are interested in agriculture.  We were even able to electrify our village and send our kids to school.” Diop also serves as President of the Thilene Farmers Union.

A similar story is playing out in neighboring Mali, where the Senegal River is formed through the merging of Bakoye and Bafing rivers.  Here, communities have practiced subsistence agriculture, and lack of irrigation has meant that prosperity had remained elusive until a new irrigation system was installed.

“Our main activity is farming, that’s our only source of income,” said Sambali Sissoko, a farmer in Bafoulabé village.  “We are organized in cooperatives and each one of us has a piece of land where we grow cabbage, onions, eggplant, lettuce and maize. We are now able to water our land, and we will have a good harvest and more revenues.”

Protecting Human Health

Water-related diseases associated with large water infrastructure projects are prevalent in the Senegal River basin, a necessary tradeoff of continuing efforts to meet burgeoning food and energy needs for a growing population that is projected to double every 25 years.

For example, malaria affects over 14% of kids under age five and 9% among pregnant women, the most vulnerable groups. Among the riparian countries, Guinea tops the list with the highest prevalence rate of over 54%, while Mauritania has the lowest prevalence rate of 1.2%.  Mali and Senegal have each reported prevalence rates of 3.1% and 2.1% respectively.

Thanks to proper management of water bodies and distribution of mosquito nets, more and more communities living in the Senegal River basin are close to seeing malaria banished from their lives. The project has already distributed 3.1 million long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets. As a result, the use of nets has increased from 27.6% to 46% overall.

The example from Richard Toll, a town lying on the south bank of the river in northern Senegal, is illuminating.  Commenting about how the battle against malaria is being waged successfully, Dr. Alassane Tall, a physician at the local health center noted that thanks to large-scale distribution of mosquito nets, it is very rare to enter a home in Richard Toll and not find a mosquito net.  “Today, we have almost no occurrences of malaria here,” he asserted.

In an interview, Sall Dieynaba Sy, a mother of two young children attested to the success of the mosquito net distribution strategy, adding “Every day, every night, all year long, my children and I sleep under a mosquito net.”

Fish for Food

After agriculture, fishing is the next most important economic activity in the Senegal River basin. Unsustainable fishing practices and changing hydrology are negatively impacting livelihoods in many communities.

To support development of inland fisheries and aquaculture in selected areas of the river basin, the project is providing funding for strengthening fisheries-related institutions, development of sustainable fisheries’ management programs, support for enhancing the value of fish catches through better storage infrastructure, and finance of aquaculture development programs.

“Fishing is our main activity, that is how we are able to provide for our families,” said Serigne Ba, who has been practicing the craft for three decades and is President of the fishery association in village Thiago, Senegal. “With the new fishing boats and nets, we are able to go further in the river, catch more fish, and conserve the fish for a longer time because we now have refrigerated containers. This allows us to sell fish locally and to markets far away such as Richard Toll.”

Coordination and Cooperation Vital for Transformative Impact

The Organization for the Development of the Senegal River Basin (known by its French acronym, OMVS) was established in 1972 to promote coordinated water and energy development. Jointly governed by Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal, the OMVS is spearheading coordinated river basin planning and investment so that the risks of large-scale water investment are mitigated and the benefits are shared among the riparian states.

Speaking to the importance of a multi-pronged approach to sustainable development of the Senegal River basin, Kabiné Komara, High Commissioner of the OMVS said: “Over 12 million people living along the river used to be the poorest in the area. This project has improved health conditions and contributed to improved livelihoods. Through improved management of fisheries, food security has improved and revenues have greatly increased. In supporting agriculture, we didn’t just establish irrigated fields, but also provided farmers with guidance and training along with small loans that allowed for the improvement of agricultural techniques and sharing of knowledge sharing.”

As the four countries of the Senegal River basin work to improve the well-being of their people, it is clear that active coordination and close cooperation is delivering results.

“The second phase of the Senegal River Basin Multipurpose Water Resources Development project is helping communities to secure economic growth, improve well-being and cope and adapt to climate change,” said Shelley Mcmillan, Senior Water Resources Specialist and project leader. “This model of collaboration holds significant promise in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.”

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Video - Humanitarian actors work on a three-year response plan

By The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Humanitarians closed today a two-day workshop on the Sahel chaired by the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper. They discussed anticipated needs of the Sahel and defined strategic objectives for the humanitarian response.

A three-year Sahel Strategy will be developped to support governments and humanitarians in the planning, coordination and implementation of their humanitarian work. This strategy will be launched in February 2014.

 

For more go to http://www.unocha.org/rowca/

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New Humanitarian Appeals Process for the Sahel

By the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

From 28-29 November, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel (RHC) is convening governments, Humanitarian and Resident Coordinators, Cluster Coordinators, Regional Directors, NGOs, Donors, and Chairs of Regional Sector Working Groups in a workshop to plan the humanitarian response for the Sahel for next three years. Participants to the workshop will finalize the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) in the Sahel and outline the Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for 2014-2016. Objectives of the workshop are three-fold: (1) to reach a shared understanding of humanitarian needs in the region; (2) to identify shared strategic objectives and indicators for a 3-year regional response strategy for the Sahel; and (3) to agree on procedures and timelines for strategic response strategies.

 

The HNO and SRP processes replace the traditional humanitarian appeals process, known as the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). The regional humanitarian Sahel Strategy for 2014-2016 will be launched at a high-level event in early February 2014.

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Niger Invests in Early Childhood through Social Safety Nets

 

By The World Bank

 

Malnutrition is a torment that Rabi, a Nigerien mother, struggles with daily. Rabi lives in the village of Katami, in the southern Niger department of Dosso, one of the poorest regions in the country. About 20 years old, Rabi raises her five children, as well as an orphaned niece, by herself. Her husband left the village five years ago in search of a better life, leaving the young woman to feed the household on her own.

 

In Niger, an immense Sahelian country where the fertility rate (7.6 children per woman) is among the highest in the world and where drought strikes with alarming frequency, more than one-third of children under five years of age are underweight. And even when the harvest is good, an estimated 40 percent to 50 percent of Nigeriens struggle to feed their families.

 

In an effort to combat this misery, Nigerien authorities decided to tackle the causes of chronic food insecurity. In 2011, with support from the World Bank, the government began to establish a system of social safety nets targeting the most vulnerable households, and women in particular, in the five poorest regions in the country: Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabery, Zinder and Dosso.

 

Rabi is among 114 beneficiaries in the village of Katami alone. For almost a year she has been receiving monthly cash transfers of CFAF 10,000 (approximately US$20), which she will continue to collect for 24 consecutive months. “I use this money to buy food and clothes, but also soap and shoes for the children,” Rabi states.

 

“What’s new in the social safety net program is that we’re not content to just give out money to beneficiaries; this program includes measures meant to bring about behavioral changes, not only among beneficiaries, but also across the community,” notes Carlo del Ninno, a World Bank economist and task team leader. “It is about long-term investment in human capital. The program’s goal is to help the most impoverished households meet their needs, avoid having to sell their assets when crises hit, and improve the odds that the children will emerge from poverty in the future,” he adds.

 

Promoting Early Childhood Development

 

To increase the impact of these cash transfers, the World Bank and UNICEF have joined forces to establish accompanying measures that build community awareness of the need to adopt better parenting practices and, in particular, to encourage children’s nutrition and development. In addition to collecting her small monthly stipend, Rabi will participate in 18 months of training activities (led by local NGOs and community educators). These sessions, based partly on UNICEF’s “Essential Family Practices” modules, explain the advantages of practices such as breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of the child’s life, adding nutritious foods to the diet and sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, as well as the importance of stimulating young children through language and play.

 

“The innovative aspect of the accompanying measures is that they aim to give parents the maximum tools necessary to support their children’s development from a young age,” explains Oumar Barry, assistant professor of psychology at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and the creator of the technical guide for the accompanying measures component.

 

Village assemblies, which are held once a month, target the entire community. Monthly group meetings and home visits are also organized for the women who take part in the program, in order to reinforce the messages. “Going into a community and asking outright that they change their behavior overnight is quite challenging and requires a lot of patience,” acknowledges Oumou Amadou Assane, regional supervisor for the accompanying measures for the Niger government’s Social Safety Net Department.

 

“The inclusion of such a parenting education program is an innovation that simultaneously helps strengthen the impact of cash transfers and expands the scope of early childhood development programs,” notes Patrick Premand, a World Bank economist. “The effectiveness of parenting training programs has been demonstrated in other low-income countries, but the Niger project also includes an impact evaluation that will provide scientific evidence about the extent to which the program improves children’s nutrition and development.”

 

Bringing About Lasting Change

 

Guido Comale, the UNICEF representative in Niger, welcomes the collaboration between the World Bank, UNICEF, and the government of Niger. In his view, linking cash transfers with behavioral changes is critical to lifting the most vulnerable households out of extreme poverty. “You cannot ask people to wash their hands with soap if they don’t have the money to buy soap. You cannot hope to change social norms in the long term without also creating economic opportunities for the villagers,” explains Guido Comale.

 

Thanks to this income, Rabi can even begin saving and preparing for the future. With a group of 10 other villagers, she participates in a tontine, a type of revolving saving group that is widespread throughout West Africa. Every month, she saves some of her cash transfers into a common pot. One by one, each woman will receive an interest-free loan allowing her to invest in a productive activity.

 

With a budget of US$70 million financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, the program will continue until 2017: Some 80,000 households will receive these cash transfers and 200,000 households will benefit from the accompanying measures. In total, more than half a million children will be reached.

 

“I see a very strong connection between the cash transfers and the accompanying measures. These provisions allow us to envision a future, perhaps by 2030 to 2040, filled with very bright young people,” says an enthusiastic Ali Mory Maidoka, the national coordinator of the Social Safety Net Department in Niger’s Office of the Prime Minister.

 

Footnote:

The project is implemented by the Social Safety Net Department, Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Niger, with technical and financial support from the World Bank. The accompanying measures are implemented in collaboration with UNICEF, whose “Essential Family Practices” modules serve as the basis for parenting education activities. Development of the technical manual for the accompanying measures benefits from the support of the Early Learning Partnership (ELP) and the Children’s Investment Fund (CIFF). The impact evaluation of the project is supported by the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF).

 

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Sound water management key to building resilience in Africa’s Sahel

Agricultural potential waiting to be unlocked – greater attention and investment needed

Sound water management holds the key to building resilience in Africa's Sahel and can free rural communities from the vicious cycle of weather-related food security crises that have plagued the region over recent years, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at a high level meeting on resilience in the Sahel, focusing on irrigation and water management, with participants from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.

 

With both drought and flooding posing recurring challenges to the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists, "water is often a problem in the Sahel, whether too much or too little. And the poorest and most vulnerable are the most affected," he noted.

 

A demanding region, with potential

 

Owing to its often harsh agro-climatic and environmental conditions, the Sahel is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world.

 

Still, agriculture is the most important economic activity in the Sahel.  Local economies and livelihoods in the Sahelian countries depend heavily on soil, water and vegetation, but the state of these resources has been steadily deteriorating as a result of expanding human settlement, erosion and demand for food, fodder, fuelwood and water. 

 

Yet agriculture in the region - put on a path to resilience - holds great potential, Graziano da Silva argued.

 

While the Sahel is characterized by low and erratic annual precipitation, with irregular short rainy seasons, its renewable water resources put regional supplies above the standard water scarcity limit of 1,000 m3/yr per capita.  Indeed, with the notable exception of Burkina Faso, there is no aggregate physical water scarcity in the Sahel.

 

 "The region's agriculture potential, when properly mobilized, could easily go beyond local sales and serve regional and even international markets," said Graziano da Silva.

 

But to unlock this potential, more effective, sustainable and integrated management of water resources for agricultural productivity and rural development is necessary.

  

Getting there

 

The FAO chief urged governments, development partners, academia, civil society and private sector participants at the Dakar meeting to be creative and uncompromising in their search for solutions.

"We have the tools to transform the vulnerable communities of the Sahel into much stronger and more resilient communities, and we cannot wait anymore for the next drought or the next flood," he said.

 

Investments in small-scale water harvesting and water storage have a tremendous impact on rural families, he said.

 

Flexible irrigation systems giving farmers better control over water can significantly enhance their incomes.

 

At the same time, more investment in medium to large-scale irrigation systems through effective partnerships between public and private sectors is needed, according to Graziano da Silva.

 

The event in Dakar was second of two back-to-back high-level meetings on boosting rural resilience in the Sahel organized by the World Bank, the Comité permanent Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS) and the governments of Mauritania and Senegal, with the participation also of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS).

 

The first meeting, focused on the needs of Sahelian pastoral communities, took place in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on 29 October.

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More Irrigation and Pastoralism Could Transform Africa's Sahel Region

By Makhtar Diop, Vice President for Africa at the World Bank

The Sahel region, a vast arid stretch of land linking six countries in West Africa -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal -- is home to some of the most productive pastoralist communities in the world.And yet, assailed by a host of climatic, political and development challenges, their pastoralist way of life is under threat.

 

Here, over centuries, some 16 million pastoralists have perfected the art of survival in the Sahel, raising sheep and livestock in some of the most harsh and unforgiving environments anywhere on the planet. Meat yields fromthe Sahel rival those from some of the best ranches in Australia and the United States. Currently, half of the meat and two-thirds of the milk produced and consumed in the countries of West Africa originates in the Sahel.

 

However pastoralism is facing multiple threats. These include rapid population growth, conflict, volatile food prices, animal diseases, and shrinking grazing areas and water resources. Combined, these factors are steadily jeopardizing the survival of the pastoralists of the Sahel.

 

Climate change is expected to hit Africa hardest. It is increasingly likely that scientific warnings that the world could warm by 2°C in the next 20 or 30 years will come true. In such a case, pastoralism will be imperiled. The effects on the African continent will be dramatically more devastating under a warming scenario of 4°C.

 

Desert and aridity define the Sahel, yet its vast water resources are untapped. In a region where farming is the predominant economic activity, sadly, only 20 percent of the Sahel's irrigation potential has been developed. Worse still, one quarter of the area equipped with irrigation liesin a state of disrepair.

 

Pastoralism matters for Africa's future particularly in the Sahel. So does irrigation. Both affect farming, the dominant industry in the region,which accounts for one-third and more of all economic output in the Sahel. This in turn empowers the women of the Sahel, as women account for the majority of Africa's farmers.

 

Supporting pastoralism with more climate smart-policies; reducing vulnerability to drought, flooding and other disasters; and raising more healthy livestock through timely vaccines, are all necessary to help communities adapt to the ecological harshness of the Sahel.

 

Bringing more water to parched lands in the Sahel will not only improve food production but place more food on family dinner tables, allow farmers to move from subsistence farming into growing and selling greater quantities of food crops for higher earnings in local and regional markets. Climate-smart agriculture can increase yields, put more money in farmers' pockets and help protect biodiversity, improve soil fertility, and conserve the environment.

 

At a time when the global economy is slowly recovering, we want to prime the engines of growth that really matter.

 

The World Bank is hosting two major summits in Mauritania and Senegal focused on threats and opportunities for pastoralism and irrigation to thrive in Africa.

 

I am confident that in Nouakchott and Dakar, we will mobilize new coalitions of countries, development partners, business leaders, and the communities themselves for a new push to transform agriculture with more domestic, regional and international support for pastoralism and irrigation.

 

It can be done.

Robert Piper: Une nouvelle approche pour le Sahel

Le plus haut Responsable Humanitaire dans le Sahel déclare que les gouvernements, les donateurs et les organisations humanitaires ont besoin de changer leur manière de soutenir les personnes les plus vulnérables du monde.

Pour plus d'informations sur le Sahel visitez : http://www.unocha.org/crisis/sahel
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Flooding in the Sahel leaves thousands of families facing uncertain futures

By Moustapha, IFRC

Armed with a single bucket, Amy Gueye tries to scoop out the waters that have overtaken her completely flooded home. Like many others in Wakhinane Nimzatt, in the suburbs of Dakar, the Senegalese capital, she had hoped for a lull in the rain to get rid of the water. But her efforts come to nothing as, unusually, persistent and recurrent rains continue to deluge her neighbourhood and many regions across the Sahel, causing huge losses for thousands of families. Resigned and powerless, Gueye thinks for the first time about ​​leaving the house in which she was born. "It is very difficult to live with all the water. I am completely exhausted and I lost almost all my possessions," she says.

 

Heavy rains inundated neighborhoods in and just outside of Dakar, September 2013. Moustapha Diallo/IFRC



Since August, severe floods have been reported in many countries across the Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. According to assessments conducted by authorities and Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies, more than 300,000 people have been affected. Houses, roads, public infrastructure, food reserves and crops have all been lost. As flooding continues, fears are growing about the impact on the upcoming harvest, particularly in Niger where thousands of hectares of farmland have been swept away.

 

“The damage to crops and the widespread destruction of grain stores in Niger have left many communities facing an uncertain future,” says Naziha Moussaoui, food security delegate at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Dakar. The situation is considered just as serious in many other countries even though the extent of damage varies from one region to another. “An estimated 11.3 million people remain severely food insecure across the Sahel and what is extremely worrisome is that some regions in some countries hardest hit by the flooding are those which were also affected by the food crisis in 2012,” says Moussaoui. “We are extremely concerned about what could be a long period of food insecurity for some vulnerable families.”

 

Health is also a major concern in the countries hit by the flooding. Many people are living in flooded houses in stifling heat and terrible sanitary conditions, exposed to the risks posed by waterborne diseases. The situation is particularly serious in Dakar where, in addition to flooding, people are ironically facing a dire water shortage. A broken pipeline has left 40 per cent of the population – an estimated 3 million people – searching for clean water to drink. Two weeks after the pipeline burst, many residents are resorting to using water from wells or backwater, increasing the risk of further disease outbreaks.

 

“Tap water no longer flows in our neighbourhood and we don’t have money to pay 2 US dollars just for 10 litres of drinkable water. It will be not enough for the entire family, that’s why we collect water from the backwater. We know it is not safe, but we don’t have any other choice,” says Gueye.

For more go to www.ifrc.org

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Robert Piper: A new approach needed for the Sahel

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, has called on governments and international organizations to adopt a new way of supporting people in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa. "'Business as usual' doesn't cut it," he said. "We're going to have a very large caseload of people every year unless we change our approach," he said.

For more go to http://www.unocha.org/crisis/sahel
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Interview: “Business as usual doesn’t cut it”

This morning (Thursday 26 September), senior representatives from more than 60 countries and international organizations will gather in the margins of the UN General Assembly for a High Level Meeting on the political, security and humanitarian future of the Sahel – one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. The meeting will be chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

 

Speaking ahead of the event, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, says that it offers a chance for governments, the UN and the development and humanitarian communities to adopt a new approach to addressing vulnerability in the region.

 

“Business as usual’ doesn’t cut it. We’re going to have a very large caseload of people every year unless we change our approach,” he said.

 

Q. Thank you for your time. What is the situation in the Sahel today?

 

A. Well, the situation today is much better than last year. Last year we had a drought and we certainly had a crisis of fairly epic proportions. This year the situation remains fairly serious, People are still trying to recover from last year’s events and they’ve also been battered by man-made disasters: [the conflict in] northern Mali and so forth.

 

Today we have over 11 million people food insecure across the region. Almost 5 million children are acutely malnourished and we have had a number of epidemics and different health challenges. So it’s a region which is recovering from a very serious period, but [that is] still very fragile and in need of a tremendous amount of support from the international community.

 

Q. What kind of humanitarian assistance do people need?

 

A. I think we need to realize firstly that we have amongst these populations the most vulnerable people on the planet. So ‘business as usual’ doesn’t cut it. We’re going to have a very large caseload of people every year unless we change our approach.

 

One of the problems we have today – as we’ve had almost every year with humanitarian efforts – is that governments tend to want to fund food and nutrition which gives a very immediate life-saving result. They are much more reluctant to fund, say, agriculture or water and sanitation inputs because that has a deferred result.

 

So the problem is the following: If we’re going to reduce next year’s caseload of food insecure people, then we need to give them agricultural support this season. And if we’re going to reduce the number of malnourished children that we’re going to treat next year, then water and sanitation services have got everything to do with [that]. So we need a more balanced response.

 

Q. What will be the focus of the High-Level Event for the Sahel?

 

A. The meeting is dedicated to bringing the international community together in a coordinated fashion. The objective of the Secretary-General is to create a stronger international response to make sure that [everyone] comes together on the new UN integrated strategy for the Sahel which was endorsed by the Security Council a couple of months ago.

 

The strategy brings together essentially three pillars of work of the international community in the Sahel: Supporting and strengthening states across the region; security and borders, and resilience – trying to break the cycle of crises that are creating more and more vulnerable people in the region.

 

Q. What are your expectations for the meeting? What do you want to see?

 

A. Our expectations are pretty high for this. This is a very fragile region. We can’t afford to let it slide another year. Across the region we see fragility. We see fragility caused by nature and climate change. We see the fragility that comes with the most intense poverty on the planet. And we see fragility that comes from man-made crises -conflicts between people over resources, conflicts championed by Jihadists in northern Mali, and refugees being pushed out of Sudan and Central African Republic into Chad. So there’s fragility wherever you look.

 

To respond effectively to that kind of scenario, we need regional governments working together very effectively, and we need an international community in turn which comes in behind that regional community of actors and dedicates themselves to dealing with the structural problems that are unfolding in the region.

 

My expectation is that at the end of the day we [need to be] sure that we are focusing on the most vulnerable people in this region. If we don’t have [them] at the centre of all our policy making efforts and our funding, then we’re not going to build the kind of resilience that we have to see in this part of the world.
 

For more go to www.unocha.org

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UN General Assembly: 4 things you need to know

By the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Dozens of heads of state along with the UN Secretary-General, Government Ministers, leaders of UN agencies and civil society and other dignitaries are gathering in New York for the 68th Session of the United Nation’s General Assembly. The annual event – a series of meetings starting on 24 September and stretching over the better part of two weeks – will see Member States discuss and debate a range of political, economic and security-related issues.

 

Each year, OCHA and its partners take the opportunity to highlight key areas of humanitarian concern, and to advocate on behalf of people in crisis for solutions and support.

 

Here are four key humanitarian issues that OCHA will be focusing on during the 2013 General Assembly.

 

Each year during the UN General Assembly, OCHA and
its partners highlight key areas of humanitarian concern,
taking the opportunity to advocate on behalf of people in crisis
for solutions and support. Credit: UN

1. The humanitarian crisis in Syria must not be overshadowed by the political debate. The conflict in Syria and the use of chemical weapons are likely to continue to dominate discussions over the coming days. Our hope is that this does not detract attention from the country’s severe humanitarian crisis. Some 7 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian support, with more than 2 million having fled the country.

 

UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos has issued similar calls throughout the crisis (including in an opinion piece published at the beginning of September, at the re-launch of the Syria humanitarian appeal in June, and in a statement to the UN Security Coucil in April). On Tuesday 24 September, she will be taking part in a UK-organized High-Level Meeting on Syria.

 

“At the moment we are talking about the whole chemical weapons issue, it is important that that is addressed (and) it is important that we maintain the pressure to get a political solution,” said Ms Amos, in an interview that will be published later today. “But (the) humanitarian issues and the human rights abuses that are really spiralling out of control inside Syria – we need our political leaders to address those as well.”

 

2. We will urge Member States to do what they can to reverse the deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). Every single person in CAR has been affected by their country’s descent into insecurity, violence and despair. Since December 2012, 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and a further 60,000 have left the country all together.

 

Persistent insecurity has severely hampered the ability of humanitarian organizations to reach those most in need. Earlier this month, two aid workers with the French NGO ACTED were killed north of the capital of Bangui.

 

On Wednesday 25 September, Ms. Amos and Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, will chair a High-Level Event that will focus on the situation in CAR. Ms. Amos and Ms. Georgieva visited CAR earlier this year.

 

“We were both shocked by what we saw but felt that there was a very real opportunity (…) for the international community to really make a difference,” said Ms. Amos. “If they would just focus on the Central African Republic and think about the resources required – the support required to begin to build the institutions in the country – and to give much needed financial support to the many organizations operating on the ground.”

 

“So this meeting (will) I hope be an opportunity for that to happen.”

 

3. We will celebrate a new generation of African Humanitarian Champions. Later on Wednesday 25, OCHA will co-host an event with the African Union to celebrate African Humanitarian Champions. The event will highlight the rise of a new approach towards humanitarian intervention in Africa – an approach driven by African governments and civil society, that places increased emphasis on building resilience, rather than addressing needs in the short term.

 

The event will be an opportunity for African governments and private sector representatives to show how they are addressing humanitarian needs, and to convey the changing narrative about Africa’s response to humanitarian situations.

 

4. We will emphasize that building resilience should be at the heart of our support to the countries of the Sahel. People in the Sahel – a region that stretches across nine Saharan countries – are some of the most vulnerable people in the world today. They face food insecurity and malnutrition, health crises, natural disasters and, increasingly, insecurity and violence.

 

On Thursday 26 September the Secretary-General will convene a meeting on the Sahel, which is expected to endorse a new, integrated strategy for the region. One of the three ‘pillars’ of this new strategy is Resilience – the idea that humanitarian and developments efforts should focus on addressing the chronic and structural causes of vulnerability. This approach is already at the heart of much of the work of humanitarian agencies in the Sahel.

 

Ahead of the event, we will feature an interview with Robert Piper, the regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel.

 

For more go to www.unocha.org

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Resilience takes root in eastern Chad

By The United Nations Development Program - PNUD / Chad

Visiting Chad from 14 to 17 September, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark, traveled to the Sahel region of Dar Sila, located in the east of the country, to witness the implementation of a new program of resilience.

 

UNDP and its partners, civil society and the Chadian government are working together there to reduce the vulnerability of communities in all of its dimensions in the village of Goz Beida.

 

In Chad, our new program of resilience empowers local communities to provide health, education and rule of law services

 

 The area is extremely fragile due to its exposure to natural disasters, land degradation and loss of productivity, compounded by climate change and large flows of displaced populations that have added pressure to the local environment and its ability to provide services.

 

Taking advantage of a period of relative peace and stability in Dar Sila, the new approach aims to heal wounds by bringing people together into the same development programme.

 

"The dividend of greater stability has to come in the form of meeting the aspirations of the people for education for their children, proper health care and an opportunity to have a proper livelihood," said Helen Clark in an interview with Radio Sila, a local station that advocates daily for peace and harmony.

 

The program is directly helping to stabilize communities, but also working with local authorities to help people build a better future by generating new sources of revenue and getting access to basic services.

 

In its conflict prevention component, the programme has mobilized local radios, caravans of peace and religious and traditional authorities that have sensitized 65,000 people on issues relating to human rights, violence against women and community conflicts.

 

About 150 mediators, including many women, have helped solve 42 inter-community conflicts using traditional techniques, sometimes covering up to 70 miles on donkeys to promote dialogue and prevent violence in all the surrounding villages.

 

Mobile legal clinics have also helped to promote access to justice by teaching 130,000 people about principles relating to land tenure, marital and community law.

 

Thanks to this relative stability, the programme will encourage local communities to develop, and grow nutritious food, while allowing them to generate new sources of income from it.

 

The initiative will give them access to energy through the installation of generators that are able to complete the most difficult tasks, such as husking grain. One thousand women are being trained in marketing local products and have already contributed a total of US $8000 to run their associations.

In parallel, the program has developed solar panels that will light up homes at night.

 

"This program is wonderful for our women. We re-started our lives from scratch. We have gained a lot of confidence," said the head of the women's groups.

 

The programme also supports the resilience of local and national institutions, increasing their capacity to provide health, education and rule of law services and expand social protection and economic opportunities.

 

The municipality of Goz Beida itself now has 21 elected officials, including two women, and its budget increased tenfold in two years, from US $16,000 to $160,000.

 

For more visit www.undp.org

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Échange d'expérience au Sahel et dans la Corne de l'Afrique sur la gestion de l'insécurité alimentaire et la résilience

Film réalisé par le Groupe URD (Urgences, Réhabilitation, Développement)

La conférence « Exchange on Practices and Lessons Learnt on the Resilience in the Horn and the Sahel » a été organisée à Dakar les 2 et 3 juillet 2013 par le Bureau des Nations Unies pour la Coordination des Affaires Humanitaires et le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement.

 

 

Échange d'expériences au Sahel et dans la Corne de l'Afrique sur la gestion de l'insécurité alimentaire et la résilience from Groupe URD on Vimeo.

Elle a permis de faire ressortir les similarités et les différences entre ces deux contextes, y compris leur variabilité interne. Elle aussi permis de mettre en valeur des expériences tout à fait passionnantes : celles développées par OXFAM sur les systèmes de micro-assurance en Ethiopie ou celles mises en place par le gouvernement nigérien avec l’Initiative 3N, à titre d’exemple. Le rôle des institutions nationales a été mis en valeur avec le cas du Niger et du Kenya, celui des instances régionales avec la présentation de l’Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement (l’IGAD, Intergovernmental Authority on Development). Des approches originales, comme celle du Sila au Tchad et de sa « déclaration de Goz Beida », ont montré comment des dynamiques inclusives et remontantes pouvaient, en s’articulant sur une « réflexion résilience », faire bouger les lignes.

 

Les grands facteurs de contrainte, comme les phénomènes de spéculation, d’accaparement des terres, mais bien sûr aussi de natalité non contrôlée, induisant une pression toujours plus forte sur les ressources ou les changements climatiques en cours, ont été analysés en détail à l’aune des expériences de ces deux régions qui comptent parmi les plus fragiles du monde, mais dans lesquelles les sociétés, comme les systèmes pastoraux, sont extrêmement résilients.

 

l'INITIATIVE AGIR

Vers la résilience des populations,

Par Cyprien Fabre, ECHO

Nous vous proposons ci-après une présentation de M. Cyprien Fabre, Chef du Bureau ECHO pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest, au colloque international sur "l'agriculture, la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle" de l'Association des Femmes de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.

For more go to http://ec.europa.eu/echo/policies/resilience/agir_en.htm - http://ec.europa.eu/echo/ 

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Kitchen gardens: one step towards resilience in the Sahel?

By ACTED

 

In the East Batha region, in Chad, located at the heart of the Sahel and badly affected by food insecurity, ACTED is mobilised to help the most vulnerable populations. In order to give long-term solutions to food security problems, ACTED is supporting 35 villages in the set up of kitchen gardens. In each village, several vulnerable households have come together to create a cooperative.

 

Seed and tools have been distributed and are necessary to start a kitchen garden, access to water has been guaranteed and trainings have been conducted, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/OFDA).

 

Reaping the fruits

 

Habsita lives in the village of Tchakani, where one of the kitchen gardens was developed. She is 39 years old, married and has eight children. She often finds it difficult to feed eight mouths. In 2012, Habsita had to borrow money during the lean period, when stocks were depleted and prices on the markets are high, in order to feed her family. She then had to use all the earnings from the cereal harvest to repay her debt.

 

Habsita is now part of a group of 25 people that are harvesting a plot of land of one hectare on the edge of the river Batha. The group is working hard, under the scorching sun, to grow carrots, lettuce and other vegetables that will help them cover their needs during the lean period.

 

ACTED supports 35 villages with the implementation of kitchen gardens
and the support to gardeners groups. © ACTED.

 

Habsita is very eager to continue working on the kitchen garden: “The kitchen garden changed my life and can already see the result of my efforts. I am proud to learn and to be able to produce rather than depend on others.” With her child on her back, Habsita is tirelessly working in the field. “work in the field is hard, and not many people can do it. I am hoping that we can continue to work as a cooperative.”

 

In a region where agriculture is showing very meager outputs because of severe shocks, the development of kitchen gardens is one step ahead towards resilience. By varying their food sources, households are improving their food security and nutrition situation. Step by step, communities are reinforcing their livelihoods: “At the end of this year’s work, I will be able to go through the rainy season without having to borrow money because the harvest will be good,” concludes Habsita.

 

For more go to http://www.acted.org/
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