A severe drought in the arid Sahel in Africa is causing nations, international organizations, and aid agencies to mobilize quickly to prevent millions from starving, according to a report from OneWorld.net.
Here's a look at some facts, quotes, and information regarding the food crisis and the international response.
* The Sahel is a band of lands between the Sahara desert and wetter regions to the south. Seven out of eight governments have declared emergencies where 12 million people are at risk.
* Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Cameroon, and Nigeria were among those who declared an emergency. Senegal held off due to the political concerns of this month's presidential elections.
* According to the aid organization Oxfam, Mauritania and Chad have cereal production deficits of 50 percent compared to last year.
* Previous food crises were recorded in 2005, 2008, and 2010.
* The food crisis is complicated by regional conflicts, including a campaign of terror in northern Nigeria by the radical sect Boko Haram and an active separatist insurgency in Mali. Rebels have also recently threatened the capital of Chad, AFP reports.
* The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes most of the above listed nations, has approved $3 million in aid, according to a separate AFP article.
* United Nations officials went to Niger on Thursday to assess the situation and to draw attention to the crisis. A press release from the UN says that one third of Niger's population suffers from food insecurity.
* Calls for more aid are still short of the need, with a projected $724 million required to tackle the issue. The UN says $135 million in donations have arrived while relief efforts have begun.
* A joint statement from UN agencies, the European Commission, and USAID from Rome was issued on Wednesday on the World Food Program's website with a plan for course of action in meeting the immediate needs. The list of agreed action items included short-term food security and nutrition delivery, early warning information management systems, and a response to the Mali security crisis.
* In addition, the group mentioned a need to meet the first goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to reduce poverty and hunger by half for the affected populations of the region by 2015.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.
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