Africa: Early Drought Threatens Food Security in Sahel Region

The effects of drought in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa have prompted the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to issue a call for additional financial support in order to help 859,000 children under the age of five suffering from malnutrition. UNICEF currently only has half of the $50 million in funds necessary to carry out potentially life saving operations that will help feed children during this time of need.

Children are suffering from malnutrition all over the Sahel, a belt of savanna and grasslands south of the Sahara desert that is prone to droughts that thwart crop growth in the planting season, leaving less to reap come harvest time. Families in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad, and Niger have become food insecure, unable to prevent children from becoming acutely malnourished.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.