In response to the humanitarian situation
in Mauritania the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided
=A31 million for the World Food Programme Western Sahel Emergency Operation
and =A30.57 million to OXFAM for food aid.
This is an ongoing crisis that requires
an urgent response to mitigate a further deterioration in the humanitarian
situation and to prevent large scale loss of life next year.
The World Food Programme says that 750,000 people are affected by food shortages in the country so far.
On 4 September 2002 the Government of Mauritania put out an urgent appeal for food aid requesting 38,000MT of grain and 14,000MT of complementary materials to provide emergency relief for its population who are suffering from severe food shortages.
OXFAM is focusing on projects concerning food security and income security and has six local implementing partners. The project is to provide assistance for 36,280 beneficiaries in the most badly affected areas in the South of the country and is based on an assessment that they carried out between 18 September and 9 October. The main output will be food distribution for the 36,280 beneficiaries but there will also be capacity building projects such as support to vegetable farmers, studies into safe drinking water, and food security and nutritional surveillance.