West Africa: Why the Sahel Needs U.S. $1.6 Billion Again This Year

Dakar — The 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy calls for US$1.66 billion to help meet humanitarian needs and build up resilience among vulnerable groups - an identical figure to the 2012 crisis appeal - even though aid agencies estimate the number of Sahelians at risk of going hungry this year has dropped 44 percent to 10.3 million. IRIN spoke to aid agency representatives to find out why the ask has remained constant.

"First of all, last year's figures represented just seven months of crisis needs, as the appeal was launched in May," said Allegra Baiocchi, head of the UN's West Africa Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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