EU SACLES UP AID TO THE SAHEL AMIDST FINANCIAL SAGA IN EUROPE

Despite the ongoing financial crisis that has made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the eurozone to re-finance their government debts without the assistance of third parties, the European Union, which is in the epicenter of this crisis, has buried its heads under the rubble and gone ahead to increase its humanitarian funding to the Sahel by €40 million.

This aid package, known as humanitarian aid, has come just weeks before the food crisis is set to peak across the region where 18 million people are in danger from hunger.
This package brings the European Union’s response to the food crisis in the Sahel to €337 million.

The funding increase has come just as the European Commission is hosting a high level gathering on the Sahel hunger crisis.
International donors, representatives from Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Nigeria, as well as international and local organisations are in attendance.

Among the delegates are Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for Democracy at USAID.
The meeting intends to launch a new partnership on strengthening the resilience of the Sahel to future crises. The initiative, called AGIR Sahel (Alliance Globale pour l’Initiative Resilience), has one core aim: to make sure the people in the Sahel can better cope with future droughts – a catch 22 situation that has left many Sub-Saharans reeling in poverty and hunger.

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said: “This funding is about saving lives in an emergency. It is our last chance to get to people when the crisis peaks. Right now people across the Sahel are starting to scrape the bottom of empty grain stores.
“Their only remaining options are to sell their animals, farm tools and eat the grain they should now be planting for the next harvest. This funding is aimed at preventing people having to make these desperate choices. The result is that they will be more resilient for future shocks that may occur.”

Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs



Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs added: “In today’s world, it is difficult to accept that some people don’t have enough to eat. This can be prevented by working with Sahel countries and international partners to put in place sound agricultural systems to prevent future crisis. Yet such resilience cannot be built overnight. The AGIR Sahel Initiative will bring together all the key players in this challenge and give people in the region hope for a more stable future in the long term.
The EU will play its part by focusing its aid on agriculture and food security in the coming years. ‘This is one of the key foundation on which we can build sustainable and inclusive growth.”

The European Commission is the leading humanitarian donor in this year’s Sahel food crisis. It has reached nearly 7 million people with its funding. The Commission provided support as soon as the warning signs for hunger began to flash in 2011, and has remained at the forefront of international efforts to reduce emergency needs leading up to the peak of the crisis in the coming weeks.

The €40 million of funding proposed today will go towards blanket feeding programmes for children and distribution of food to the poorest households. Where food is still available on local markets, the funding will be used to distribute money to people to buy food for themselves.
Part of this funding will also help to provide food, water, health care and shelter for the estimated 400,000 Malians displaced by conflict.

THE SITUATION BACK HOME IS ALARMING

Gambians are grappling with inflation in food prices at local markets, amidst reports that the raining season has delayed this year. People are finding it difficult to keep their heads above water and electricity availability – which may help minimise poverty by an iota – has become a chimera.

However, the European Commission has contributed €6 million (D240 million) to the World Food Programme in The Gambia and Senegal to address the rapid deterioration of the food security and nutrition status of the countries’ most vulnerable people.
The funds will pay for the distribution of five thousand metric tonnes of rice in The Gambia, where the WFP estimates that approximately 206,000 people in the 19 most affected districts are in need of emergency food assistance due to crop failure exacerbated by high food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty levels, sources revealed.

Targeted food distributions will take place from July onwards. The rice will be provided by Brazil as part of a “twinning” project, allowing developed and developing countries to cooperate to maximise the impact of WFP contributions.
Cargo of Brazilian rice will arrive more rapidly and is up to 30% cheaper than rice bought through regional or international procurement.
The National Disaster Management Agency will be involved in the implementation of this emergency response, which will focus on the West Coast Region, North Bank Region, Lower River Region, Central River Region and Upper River Region.