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21.03.2012 - Today, the Federal Council announced a host state contribution of CHF 70 million for the ICRC for the current year. This support is provided from the credit facility of the Humanitarian Aid of the Confederation.

Food crisis in West Africa

In the Sahel region of West Africa more than 10 million people are facing serious food shortages due to drought and the after-effects of the 2010 food crisis. Drawing from the experiences made in the Horn of Africa, Switzerland and other donors have reacted quickly in order to avert famine.

Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria: in all of these countries and regions millions of people are suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

On 2 and 3 February 2012 in Bamako, Switzerland and its cooperation partner Mali met to take stock of the ongoing cooperation between the two countries and to launch their new strategy for the years 2012 to 2015. This new strategy formulates Swiss cooperation’s major points of thrust in this west African country over the next four years. The Memorandum of Understanding signed on this occasion paves the way to a new period of cooperation between Mali and Switzerland and defines their common perspectives for the coming years.

Thousands of people are still living in appalling conditions in the Horn of Africa – in squalid accommodation, without clean drinking water and without access to schooling. Manuel Bessler, the delegate of Swiss Humanitarian Aid, visited Somalia and Kenya in January 2012 to see the situation for himself. What he saw there confirmed him in his conviction that the Horn of Africa must remain a focus of Switzerland’s humanitarian aid.

Following urgent disaster assistance request of Turkey, Humanitarian Aid of the Swiss Confederation (MFA) together with Swiss Red Cross assists with

• 300 winter proof family tents

• additional material such as stoves and blankets

In addition the Swiss Humanitarian Aid dispatched October 27 a Rapid Response Team (RRT) for the assessment of additional needs especially shelter and early recovery.

The Federal Council has today approved the allocation of CHF 54 million in support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the year 2011. UNDP is one of Switzerland’s main multilateral partners.