• Drought has returned to the Sahel region of West Africa following an erratic and late 2011 rainy season, bringing hunger to millions in the region for the third time in the past decade. In an area of the world where most people live only on what they can grow, inconsistent rains, failed harvests and dying animals mean that hunger is a fact of life for many.
• The increasing frequency of droughts in the Sahel has given communities little time to recover from the last food crisis ‐‐ savings are exhausted and livestock herds have not been rebuilt. Food prices are abnormally high across the region, further heightening food insecurity.
• WFP is purchasing food stocks and deploying specialized teams to the region in advance of the peak hunger season in June and July to ensure that food is available for the most vulnerable – especially women and children.
• WFP plans to reach 8.8 million people in the coming months with 570,000 metric tons of lifesaving food assistance:
- 3.7 million people in Niger
- 1.95 million people in Chad
- 1.1 million people in Mali
- 690,000 people in Senegal
- 570,000 people in Burkina Faso
- 500,000 people in Mauritania
- 350,000 people in Cameroon
- 62,500 people the Gambia
• WFP is working closely with governments, nongovernmental organizations and other UN agencies to ensure an immediate and comprehensive response to food insecurity in the Sahel. The total cost of WFP’s response is more than US$808 million. The sheer scale of humanitarian needs means donors need to act quickly if WFP is to save lives.