Up to 7 million people need help now, WFP says, as UNICEF warns of severe malnutrition threat
DAKAR (AlertNet) – Millions of people in Africa's Sahel region need urgent help to cope with food shortages brought on by erratic rainfall and drought, and at least 1 million children in the area face malnutrition next year, U.N. agencies warned.
The World Food Programme (WFP), which called for a new type of response to climate-related crises, estimates that between five and seven million people in the semi-arid zone just south of the Sahara need assistance now.
It said the situation would worsen if nothing was done to help the countries in need -- as more people are expected to run out of food supplies by February and March next year.
"There are already populations (the five to seven million) that need assistance now. For them it is already a crisis," said Thomas Yanga, the WFP regional director for West and Central Africa.
"We hope that we can get the help we need now instead of waiting for the situation to become dramatic," Yanga told reporters in Dakar.
Meanwhile UNICEF estimated that up to 1.025 million children would need to be treated for severe and acute malnutrition in 2012 as a result of the looming food crisis.
"This children's crisis is going to be immensely challenging," UNICEF's Regional Director David Gressly said in a statement. "We do not issue such warnings lightly, but the scale demands an appropriate response that needs to start now."
UNICEF spokesowman Marixie Mercado told reporters in Geneva that the poor rains and harvest mean the 'lean season' could begin months earlier for Niger and some other countries.
"It is critical to ensure that the health facilities and health workers have the supplies and resources that they need now," she added.
ASSESSING THE IMPACT
The worst hit areas so far are south and southwest Mauritania, west and central Mali, north and northeast Burkina Faso, west and east Niger, and the Sahelian zone of Chad, the U.N. has said.
There are also food shortages in central Senegal and parts of the Gambia but further assessments are needed to determine the extent of the problem, WFP said.
It said it was working with the governments of these countries to tackle the crisis, but has yet to make a regional appeal for funds since surveys are still ongoing in some nations.
However, WFP has separately appealed for an additional $60 million for its country programme in Niger to respond to the needs of about one million people within the next three months.
CLIMATE RELATED CRISIS
The Sahel belt is prone to droughts and insect infestations that often lead to food shortages. An international emergency response was needed last year to tackle food shortages that hit 10 million people mainly in Niger and Chad.
In 2005, a severe food crisis in Niger affected 3.6 million people, among them 800,000 children, as a consequence of drought and locust invasion.
"We are heading towards more frequent climate related crisis and I think this calls for a different type of response," Yanga said.
He urged governments in the region to take measures to increase people's resilience to climate shocks such as droughts to avoid recurrent emergency interventions.
He recommended that governments start preparing for the next agricultural season by improving access to agricultural inputs for small farmers.
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; editing by Katie Nguyen)
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