Synopsis

Many cities in sub-Saharan Africa experienced flash and/or Riverine floods in August 2012. Favorable conditions for moderate to heavy precipitation associated to a very active monsoon included an active phase of the MJO, an ENSO in its transition phase toward El Nino and an above normal temperature pattern over the Mediterranean region interacting with the African summer monsoon.
This report describes these patterns, related flooding events and impacts.

La crise alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Sahel affecte plus de 18 millions de personnes

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"The Sahel was seriously threatened again in recent months by a notable decrease in food resources," said Pope Benedict XVI in February, 2012. “I urge the international community to seriously address the extreme poverty of these people whose living conditions are deteriorating”.

(Dakar, 17 April 2012). –David Gressly took charges today in Dakar as Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel region. David Gressly was appointed by Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos for a period of six months.

The new severe food and nutrition crisis affecting the Sahel region, compounded by the impact and spillover effects of the complex emergency in Mali, require a regionally coherent and effectively prioritized humanitarian response.

Plusieurs chefs d'agences humanitaires de l'ONU ont lancé mardi un appel urgent à la communauté internationale pour apporter des fonds supplémentaires destinés aux millions de personnes affectées par l'insécurité alimentaire dans la région du Sahel, en Afrique de l'Ouest. Ils ont averti que l'inaction de la communauté internationale pourrait mener à une catastrophe humanitaire.

For the third time in a decade, drought in the Sahel region of Africa is threatening millions of people with hunger. But how do people survive in these situations and what are we doing to help them? Here are the answers to eight questions about the current hunger crisis in the Sahel and WFP's response to it.

The Sahel region is facing this year a new severe food and nutrition crisis. Around 15.6 million people are already affected by food insecurity and over 1 million children in severe acute malnutrition. Approximately 1.9 million children under five years are expected to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition.
Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and the Gambia have declared a crisis and called for international assistance.

Recurrent complex emergencies, chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, cyclical drought, seasonal floods, disease outbreaks, and limited government capacity present significant challenges to the vulnerable populations of the West and North Africa region. Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 and FY 2011, USAID’s Office of U.S.