USAID Assistance to Niger and the Sahel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 10, 2005

2005-15

Press Office: 202-712-4320

Public Information: 202-712-4810

SAHEL HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW

The U.S. Government has responded quickly and 

generously to food insecurity and development 

challenges in the Sahel region of Africa, including Niger. 

In fiscal year 2005, the U.S. Government, through the 

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has 

provided more than $122 million from the American 

people to programs that will help improve lives in the 

Sahel and is working closely with the U.N., the 

governments of the Sahel and other donor governments. 

These total funds represent direct assistance to the 

people of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and 

Senegal.

The more than 65 million people in the nine Sahelian 

countries -- Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, The 

Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and 

Senegal -- are among the poorest and least food secure 

in the world. The region is marked by high rates of 

deforestation, soil degradation, erosion and population 

growth, as well as by weak political and private sector 

institutions. USAID provides support to the Sahelian countries through bilateral and regional assistance. 

n NIGER-SPECIFIC ASSISTANCE FOR FOOD INSECURITY On October 19, U.S. Charge d'Affaires John 

Davison issued a disaster declaration due to the combined effects of the drought and locusts affecting Niger. 

This action was the first official humanitarian aid response for Niger food insecurity, issued more than a 

month before the first UN international appeal. On Friday, August 5, the U.S. Government airlifted 206 metric 

tons (MT) of special, high-nutrient food supplement to Niger to immediately help feed more than 34,000 atrisk children through UNICEF. The airlifts are in addition to more than 16,000 metric tons of USAID Title II 

food assistance provided this fiscal year to people in some of the most food insecure regions in Niger. To 

date, the total amount of U.S. support to battle food insecurity in Niger this year is approximately $14.1 

million. 

 

n HOW USAID WORKS IN THE SAHEL. The USAID-supported West Africa Regional Program (WARP) 

handles West African development challenges that are most effectively addressed at a regional level. WARP 

works closely with other USAID missions in the region, including USAID's bilateral missions in Mali and 

Senegal, and U.S. embassies in countries where USAID does not have a mission. The Sahelian countries 

benefit from WARP through their membership in such organizations as the West African Economic and 

Monetary Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Permanent Interstate Committee 

for Drought Control in the Sahel. Overall, WARP supports activities in 19 West African countries, nine of 

which are in the Sahel. Program activities focus on economic development and trade, health improvement, 

food security, agricultural growth, and peace and stability. Further funding from the Presidential Initiative to 

End Hunger in Africa is being used to implement the new regional market information system that will supply 

timely agricultural pricing information to farmers and traders. To date, WARP's program totals approximately 

$40 million. 

 

Map: USAID Assistance to the Sahel (appended)

USAID Fact Sheet
n USAID RESPONDS TO LOCUST CRISIS IN THE SAHEL Good rains in the northern Sahara south of the 

Atlas Mountains in late 2003 and early 2004 created favorable climactic conditions for increased locust 

breeding levels throughout Sahelian West Africa. USAID has monitored and responded to the locust situation 

since 2003 through its Assistance for Emergency Locust and Grasshopper Activity and Famine Early 

Warning System Network. During the height of the infestations in the fall of 2004, USAID deployed a Disaster 

Assistance Response Team to some of the most severely affected areas. According to the U.N., the locust 

and drought shocks have affected more than 3.6 million people. USAID's Regional Disaster Office has made 

several trips to each of the Sahelian countries since November 2004 to monitor the effects of drought and 

locusts. 

n Sahel/Locust Emergency: In 2004, locust invasions destroyed many crops and immense swaths of 

pastureland in pastoral and agro-pastoral regions of the Sahel. Although early findings indicated that the 

infestation would not seriously affect regional crop production, subsequent droughts and a reduced harvest 

contributed to high, localized food insecurity in parts of the Sahel and West Africa. In fiscal year 2005, USAID 

provided more than $10 million to fund locust eradication programs in the Sahel. An additional $3.5 million in 

assistance for the locust emergency in Mali and Senegal is reported under the USAID assistance to those 

two countries. Projects included aerial spraying of 383,000 hectares and assistance to regional responders 

across North and West Africa. 

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance for Locust Emergency - $10,257,496

 

n Burkina Faso: According to the U.N., more than 500,000 people will require food assistance in fiscal year 

2005 due to droughts. The U.N. also reports that citizens of Burkina Faso are implementing lean season 

coping mechanisms, such as migrating in search of food. USAID focuses the majority of its assistance to 

Burkina Faso on combating food insecurity. U.S. Government assistance also funds programs that support 

local human rights, community based development activities, political party development and technical 

assistance for upcoming elections. In addition, USAID has provided 24,240 metric tons of development food 

commodities in fiscal year 2005. 

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Burkina Faso - $16,206,500

 

n Mali: USAID's development program in Mali works to expand economic opportunities, particularly for the 

rural poor; provides high impact health services to improve the health and welfare of women and children, 

mitigates the spread of HIV/AIDS, improves the quality of basic education, consolidates democracy through 

support of decentralization and accelerates overall development by making information more widely 

accessible. To achieve these goals, USAID/Mali's fiscal year 2005 program totals more than $35 million. 

According to the World Food Program, the food crisis in Mali currently affects 2.2 million people, 20 percent 

of the country's population. Approximately 5,000 children experience acute malnutrition, and the infant 

mortality rate has reached record levels in certain parts of the country. In fiscal year 2005, USAID provided 

1,710 MT of development food commodities and in response to the 2004 -2005 locust invasion, USAID 

provided more than $2.8 million in assistance to Mali. U.S. Government assistance also funds programs that 

support human rights and community based development activities.

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Mali - $36,751,000

 

n Mauritania: The rainy season is underway in the agricultural areas, allowing the start of cultivation. 

Agricultural households are having difficulty securing seeds, especially local purchases, implying that farmers 

will not be able to take advantage of the recent rains. These risks to food security imply that close monitoring 

of the situation is necessary. The World Food Program reports that approximately 750,000 people have been 

affected by last year's locust invasion. USAID activities in Mauritania predominantly focus on combating food 

insecurity. To this end, USAID provided 15,080 metric tons of development food assistance and 16,240 

metric tons of emergency food assistance to Mauritania in fiscal year 2005. U.S. Government assistance also 

funds programs addressing human rights and community based development activities. 

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Mauritania - $14,160,300

 

n Niger: The current food security crisis in Niger is the result of years of chronic poverty, an early end to last 

year's rains and the devastation of last year's harvest and pasturelands by swarms of locusts. On August 1, 

the World Food Program increased the number of people needing humanitarian assistance from 1.2 to 2.5 

million. USAID's support to battle food insecurity in Niger for fiscal year 2005 is approximately $13.5 million, 

of which $7.5 million is new assistance. This funding supports humanitarian activities focused on food 

security, agriculture, and nutrition. USAID has also funded one airlift of 45 metric tons of special nutritional 

food for malnourished children and is funding the airlift of an additional 206 metric tons this Friday, August 5. 

USAID's development assistance supports humanitarian activities focused on long -term food security, 

agriculture and nutrition. Ongoing USAID seed distribution and emergency nutrition programs are operational 

in Maradi, Tillaberi, and Zinder regions. USAID's implementing partners (four American non-governmental 

organizations) are already operational and will be expanding operations to include the emergency nutritional 

activities USAID has pledged to support. USAID has also contributed 16,550 metric tons of emergency and 

USAID Fact Sheet
development food commodities valued at over $10 million. Development food assistance is an important part 

of USAID's response. Three out of the four regions where these non-governmental organizations operate are 

some of the most severely affected by the current crisis. Not only have these programs modified their general 

programming to deal with the crisis, they are also serving an important mitigating role - if these programs 

weren't operating, the number of people affected would be much higher. U.S. Government assistance also 

funds programs that address human rights, community based development, child survival and health, and 

youth. A USAID assessment team is in Niger and is working with existing partners to ensure that emergency 

and structural needs are met. For additional information on Niger, download the latest Situation Report at 

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/countries/Niger/index.htm.

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Niger - $14,142,050

 

n Senegal: USAID's development program supports Senegalese efforts to enhance economic productivity, 

create jobs, improve access to education and health care, and further institutionalize democracy. The 

program in Senegal focuses on improving economic livelihoods of small and micro-entrepreneurs, improving 

middle school education especially for girls, improving health care to decrease child and maternal mortality 

and limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, and strengthening local governance through transparent financial 

management and investment planning at the local level. Following the 2004 locust invasion and localized 

drought, 42 villages in Mekhe lost between 90 and 100 percent of certain crops, according to Christian Aid. 

USAID has provided $2.5 million to support emergency activities in Senegal and Mauritania in fiscal year 

2005. In addition, USAID provided 4,390 metric tons of development food assistance during 2005. 

Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Senegal - $31,097,050

USAID Fact Sheet


 	


 


		



 



 	

 	

	

 	 	


  


 	 	

	





 	



 


 	


					









		

 	


 	


 



 



 





 



 



 



	
























 







  

















 

This map presents a graphical version of the Fact Sheet "USAID Assistance to N

http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2005/fs050810.html