Regional Strategy for the Sahel - Overview

Since 2004 regional humanitarian actors in West Africa have developed situational analysis and prepared joint response through a Regional Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP West Africa). In 2012, Chad, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia have developed their own CAP. An OCHA consultation with Resident Coordinators - humanitarian Coordinators (RC / HC), led the Working Group of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee for the CAP (IASC-CAP) to make the decision not to develop a regional CAP for West Africa. However, given the current risks of food crises and pastoral nutritional burden on certain areas of the region, and following consultations between OCHA, the Working Group on Regional Food Security and Nutrition (FSNWG) and the Sub-Regional IASC, it was decided to develop a strategy for emergency preparedness in West Africa. Indeed, the region was marked by a late start to the rainy season, followed by localized, but often prolonged, drought. Especially, the rains were very unevenly distributed, with very high deficits in some areas. The areas most deficient are the western and central Mali, central Senegal, south and south-eastern Mauritania, western and west-central Niger, the Sahel part of Chad and northern Burkina Faso.

The objective of this strategic document is to enhance preparedness against the risk of food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel and in neighboring countries in 2012, and make response more effective and timely. The document was written by a select committee of the FSNWG. For the sake of consistency, this strategy takes into account the CAP 2012 Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger and Chad. Based in Dakar, the FSNWG was created in 2006, in the framework of the IASC following the food crisis that affected the Sahel in 2005. It brings together UN agencies, NGOs, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and donors. It prepared the parties relating to food security and nutrition regional CAP from 2006 to 2011.