Read at : Google Alert – images of the Africa Drought
Christian Aid responds to worsening Sahel hunger crisis
With seven million people across five West African countries facing the spectre of famine within months, Christian Aid is stepping up its early response plans to assist those living in the stricken Sahel region.
Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania all suffer from chronic malnutrition crises but the prospect of a full-blown emergency has prompted the governments of all five countries to declare states of emergency and call for international assistance.
‘The Sahel is once again facing a humanitarian crisis and, unusually this time, several governments in the region have called for international assistance and are developing emergency response plans. Now the responsibility is on the international community to scale up fast enough to avoid major suffering since these governments cannot tackle this on their own,” says Cristina Ruiz, Christian Aid’s Africa humanitarian programmes manager.
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