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2012 Sahel Crisis

SENEGAL: Change of direction in hunger response

"One day after being sworn in on 2 April, Senegal’s new President Macky Sall reversed months of public denial of the hunger affecting over 800,000 of his people - part of the Sahel-wide crisis affecting 16 million inhabitants - by calling on partners to help the country get food to those in need. UN agencies and NGOs are struggling to raise enough money to get programmes working so they can catch up with the steadily rising number of hungry people...

Millions in Sahel are short on food; aid agencies scrape for cash

"Aid agencies put out an SOS on Monday, saying they have fallen far short on funding to feed people in the Sahel area of West Africa, a shortfall that could lead to millions of people starving.

Millions in the Sahel Face Food Crisis without Increased Funding

A huge gap in funding for aid projects aimed at preventing the deepening food crisis in the Sahel is threatening to leave millions of people hungry in the coming months, a coalition of aid agencies has warned today.

Chad's malnourished children offer stark illustration of Sahel food crisis

"The NGO Action Against Hunger says that, in March alone, it had 68 new admissions to its therapeutic feeding centre in Mao, a dramatic increase compared with February, when they had 27. Therapeutic feeding centres cater for those children worst affected by severe malnutrition, youngsters too sick to eat fortified nut pastes such as Plumpy'nut or Plumpy'doz. Once in the centre, the children receive fortified milk and round-the-clock medical care.

Sahel Crisis: Regional Food Emergency Intensifies in Mali, Mauritania

As the regional food crisis intensifies in Africa’s Sahel region, we’ve worked to provide you with the latest information. Most recently, we wrote about the situation on the ground in Chad, where food shortages, price hikes, and drought have put many thousands of children in danger. Indeed, one million children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition across the region.

Sahel Crisis: Nutritional Emergency Begins in Chad’s Kanem Region

For months humanitarian actors have sounded the alarm in anticipation of an impending regional food crisis due to shortages, price hikes, and drought. One million children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. The impact of this slow-onset crisis is now being felt, much earlier and more severely than expected, as populations in Kanem, Western Chad, experience a telling spike in malnutrition rates.

Sahel food crisis has been made worse by the widespread unrest in Africa

"In Mali the strain of fighting Gadaffi-armed Tuareg rebels in the north has prompted a political crisis, leading directly to a military coup and prompting an exodus from besieged villages, exacerbating food shortages. Of the families fleeing the violence, 20% have at least one child suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to Action Against Hunger (AAH). 'These are families who have had to hastily flee the violence and they don't have access to basic products like clothing, blankets or cooking utensils.

Hunger Crisis in the Sahel

A major food crisis looms over the Sahel, a zone that extends across the African continent, separating Sahara and savanna. Some 2.6 million children are at risk of deadly malnutrition as pastoralist populations, largely dependent on biomass-rich pastures for grazing livestock, face widespread shortages of food and fodder.

Children dying in Chad as Sahel crisis bites

"Children in western Chad have started dying from malnutrition as a major hunger crisis threatening West Africa begins to take hold, an international charity has warned. Child malnutrition rates have soared in the region of Kanem, which is now in the grip of a full blown emergency, Action Contre La Faim (ACF) said...More than 2,000 children in Kanem were admitted to nutrition treatment centres in February alone, triple the number treated in December, according to ACF.

Malnutrition on the rise: Kanem region of Chad enters food emergency

"More than 2,000 malnourished children were admitted to Action Against Hunger | ACF International’s nutritional centres in Kanem in February alone, which is more than three times the number treated in the same month last year.

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About Action Against Hunger | ACF International

Action Against Hunger is internationally recognized as a leader in the fight against global malnutrition. Action Against Hunger works to save the lives of malnourished children while providing communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger. With over 30 years of expertise in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity, Action Against Hunger runs life-saving programs in some 40 countries benefiting 5 million people each year.

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Action Against Hunger is a four-star charity rated by Charity Navigator, a 2011 Top Nonprofit rated by Philanthropedia, and rated an "A" by CharityWatch.

Facts about Hunger

925 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition around the world. That's more than the populations of the United States, Canada, and the European Union.

Malnutrition affects 32.5% of children in developing countries.

1 out of every 6 infants are born with low birth weight due to undernutrition among pregnant women in developing countries.

1 out of every 3 people in developing countries are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Hunger is number one on the list of the world's top 10 health risks. It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

(Sources)