What Oxfam is doing
Drought, a poor harvest, and dwindling pasture have created a severe food crisis in the western Sahel. Oxfam and partners have mobilized across the region, aiming to reach more than a million people with aid - but funding for this emergency lags far behind the needs.
In the drought-stricken Sahel region of West Africa, more than 18 million people are facing a severe food crisis. Following the disastrous harvest of 2011, food supplies have run dangerously low. Meanwhile, prices for food in the market have risen sharply, which means hunger has become a daily reality. With the next harvest many months away, people are already resorting to desperate measures like foraging for wild food and even searching anthills for bits of grain.
Oxfam and partners have launched programs throughout the region, aiming to reach more than a million people with aid in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Senegal.
Oxfam's programs in the Sahel
Providing clean water
As water sources dry up and crops wither in the fields, Oxfam and partners are undertaking essential projects that include rehabilitating wells, constructing water networks, and providing irrigation to community gardens.
Improving access to food
In the face of damage to both incomes and food supplies, many are under pressure to sell off key assets like livestock and tools in order to feed their families. But losing the means to make a living will make it hard to recover from or even survive the intensifying crisis. Oxfam is providing cash and cash-for-work programs to help people weather the lean season between harvests without resorting to drastic measures. We are also helping restore cereal banks to enable farmers to store future crops safely and exert more influence on their selling price. And we are distributing seeds and tools to ensure that when the seasonal rains arrive, farmers will be able to plant.
Supporting the health of livestock
Goats, cows, camels, and other livestock are critical to survival in the Sahel, so Oxfam and partners are undertaking an array of programs to support animal health: distributing fodder to compensate for poor pasture, providing vaccinations to improve resistance to disease, and improving water sources for animals.
Providing aid to refugees
Armed conflict in northern Mali has intensified the crisis for many, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee their homes. Although Oxfam has had to suspend its activities in northeastern Mali due to insecurity, we have been able to continue our work in the west, and we have incorporated aid to refugees into our programs in neighboring Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.
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