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The international community is mobilizing to help fight famine in West Africa and the Sahel. The FAO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, announced on Thursday that it had raised the sum of 1.79 billion euros.
1.79 billion euros have been raised to fight famine in Africa. The United States has promised to increase its aid, as has the European Union, which has pledged to give an additional 67 million euros for an overall envelope of 240 million over 2022. As for France, it should contribute to 166 million euros over the year.
Developed countries and several organizations have expressed interest in increasing their participation as the development of the situation in the region is extremely worrying, associations and NGOs. Some 27 million people currently suffer from malnutrition in the central Sahel region and the Lake Chad basin.
“A war on global food security”
An already extremely high figure that could quickly reach “ 38 million people by June if action is not taken urgently”, warned Tuesday, the FAO. Oxfam or Action against Hunger have expressed their concerns about a “ sharp drop in international aid to Africa ».
For these associations, the region is experiencing its worst food crisis in a decade. The reasons for this situation are multiple: droughts, conflicts, impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic and now the war in Ukraine and its consequences, such as rising food prices. « Putin’s war against Ukraine is also a war against world food security (…) The regions of the Sahel risk being the first to bear the brunt “, denounced the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Faced with this situation, Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum pleaded for a significant and urgent increase in international funding during a meeting on the subject organized by the European Union and the Sahel and West Africa Club.
► To listen also: Guest Africa – Food crisis in Africa: Luca Russo of the FAO fears “a decline in humanitarian assistance”