End Famine And Help The Sahel Rebuild

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Sponsor: The Hunger Site

Urge Congress to develop strategies to help the Sahel out of its crisis and rebuild its infrastructure.

End Famine And Help The Sahel Rebuild

South Sudan has marked nearly a decade of independence, but for the millions who continue to face famine, disease, displacement, and crippling poverty will be hard pressed to find any reason to celebrate1.

As climate change worsens, millions of Sahelians are estimated to be short of food, with the crisis growing worse by the year2. Many acutely malnourished children have been treated via UNICEF and NGO-run nutrition centers. Despite these avenues of nutritional support, statistics show malnutrition rates of more than 10% in almost all of the countries, and above 15% in parts of Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. Water and sanitation are also ongoing concerns3.

Civil unrest in the Sahel has contributed to its decline; terrorism and violence have forced millions of people to flee their homes, and constant drought and widespread famine make escaping those dangers impossible.

Security incidents, attacks and kidnappings are a daily reality for millions of civilians and humanitarian workers in the field4. About half of the Sahel’s population is under 15 years old, and the surge in armed violence is having a devastating impact on children’s survival, education, protection and development5.

We can’t throw short-term ideas at the problem; we must help promote the structural development of the Sahel’s nations to help them build sustainable communities that are resilient to civil issues6.

This means investing in initiatives that develop agricultural productivity and access to food and water, and helping citizens prepare for potential drought.

Sign below and ask the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implement a solution to the foundational causes of the Sahel’s issues.

More on this issue:

  1. Mercy Corps (24 June 2019), "The facts: What you need to know about the South Sudan crisis."
  2. Humanitarian Aid (7 December 2021), "35.8 million face lean season food crisis in West Africa and Sahel."
  3. Anna Jeffrys, The New Humanitarian (14 October 2013), "Time to prevent child malnutrition in Sahel."
  4. UN Humanitarian (12 October 2021), "Celebrating the hope and culture of a region in acute crisis."
  5. Unicef (January 2020), "Crisis in the Central Sahel."
  6. United Nations (20 December 2018), "Peace in Sahel Requires Tackling Causes of Instability, Special Adviser Tells Security Council amid Calls to Advance Development, Fight Terrorism."

The Petition

Dear USAID Administrator,

The ingredients of a crisis have all come together to create a dangerously critical situation in the Sahel region of Africa. Widespread civil unrest has caused millions of people to flee their homes in search of safer accommodations, but in the Sahel, there is virtually no such thing.

Drought and subsequent famine rage through the region, to the degree that 11.3 million Sahelians are estimated to be short of food this year and 1.5 million children are acutely malnourished. People like children and the elderly whose immune systems are already compromised are at especially high risk of sickness and death from lack of water and adequate nutrition.

But while violence cannot be predicted, we can anticipate drought and famine. Instead of throwing billions of dollars at an immediate emergency, we need to help nations within the Sahel rebuild their infrastructures, from the ground up, in an effort to push them into food and water independence.

This means investing in programs that encourage agricultural productivity and access to food and water. It means helping Sahel Africans spot and prepare for potential food insecurity.

Please continue to aid in the Sahel's recovery by promoting long-term solutions that tackle issues at their core.

Sincerely,

DEV MODE ACTIVE. BRAND: ars