U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
Sahelian West Africa - Humanitarian Emergency
Fact Sheet #3, Fiscal Year (FY) 2005  August 23, 2005
Note:  The last fact sheet was dated August 19, 2005.


NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
SOURCE

Affected population - Niger
2,700,000
Government of Niger, August 19, 2005

Affected population - Mali
1,000,000
WFP(1), August 5, 2005

Affected population - Mauritania
600,000
WFP, August 5, 2005

Affected population - Burkina Faso
500,000
WFP, August 5, 2005

Total Affected Population (2)
4,800,000


Total FY 2005 USAID Assistance to Niger, Mauritania, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Sahel Regional Locust Response   $133,892,006

1 U.N. World Food Program

2 Affected populations may have varying levels of need, from complete food
distributions to little or no assistance.



CURRENT SITUATION

Regional Update

- The Assistant Administrator of USAID's Bureau of Democracy, Conflict,
and Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/DCHA), Michael Hess, is currently on a
10-day trip to Niger and Mali to visit USAID-funded projects in affected
areas and conduct humanitarian assessments with USAID Disaster Assistance
Response Team (USAID/DART) representatives in the field.


Niger Update

- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Niger on August 23 to begin
a two-day visit.  According to international media reports, Secretary
General Annan will visit a feeding center and a hospital in Zinder and
meet with President Mamadou Tandja and representatives from the U.N. and
other humanitarian organizations.

- From August 19 to 21, Assistant Administrator Hess traveled with the
USAID/DART to Tahoua Region. In the village of Kalfou Dabagui, the
delegation observed CARE's distribution of food assistance provided by the
Government of Niger (GON).  All 462 households in the village were
eligible to receive this food assistance, consisting of 50 kg of rice for
households of 4 or fewer people and 100 kg of rice for households with 5
or more people.  U.N. World Food Program (WFP) food commodities are
expected to arrive in one to two weeks.  According to the mayor and
village chiefs, households in Kalfou Dabagui lost on average approximately
60 percent of their livestock.  However, the village mayor noted that crop
and grazing conditions will likely be good this season if the rains
continue until September.

- On August 20, Assistant Administrator Hess and the USAID/DART traveled
to Akoubounou, Tahoua Region, a semi-nomadic and pastoralist village of
the Touareg ethnic group.  The delegation met with the village mayor and
court of Touareg tribal chiefs, who represent approximately 25,000 people.
According to the representatives interviewed, the tribes have lost a high
percentage of livestock since last year, with some households losing their
entire herds.  The hardest hit animals were cattle and sheep.  The
representatives indicated that the only assistance received to date is the
GON's subsidized sale of cereals; however, food distributions from WFP are
expected.  The Touareg representatives stated that their assistance
priorities include water, livestock recovery, and agriculture.

- From August 12 to 18, the USAID/DART traveled to Zinder and Diffa
regions in southeastern Niger to conduct assessments.  Based on interviews
and first-hand observations, the team concluded that a number of factors,
including the ability to pay for potable water, food, and health care; and
the impact of malaria, poor hygiene, and local weaning practices,
contributed to elevated child malnutrition and mortality in rural areas.

- The USAID/DART reported that water and sanitation deficiencies they
observed are the status quo in villages they visited.  The team noted an
absence of famine indicators and a lack of evidence of an acute
malnutrition crisis, emphasizing that at present, most households are
eating two to three meals per day.  Most pastoralist and agro-pastoralist
households in the region have depleted livestock holdings, due either to
death or liquidation of their stocks in 2005.  However, pastoralists
reported an excellent evolution of pasture and a strong recovery of all
animals.  Animal prices have also recovered in the past month.
Pastoralists with camels told the USAID/DART that they were able to sell
their animals at good prices in Libya.

- According to WFP, a bridge located in Guene, Benin, 15 km from the Niger
border, washed out on August 11, delaying the transport of more than 7,000
metric tons (MT) of WFP food assistance.  WFP has rerouted 4,000 MT of
assistance through Burkina Faso.  According to the USAID/DART, Medecins
sans Frontieres reported that the problems with the bridge are delaying
the arrival of therapeutic feeding foods in Niger.  WFP reported that the
Government of Benin is constructing a dirt bypass route scheduled to be
functional by August 25.


Mali Update

- In discussions with several national, regional, and local authorities,
the USAID/DART determined that the Government of Mali (GOM) appears to be
in agreement at all levels that while the food security situation is a
cause for concern, with the exception of some households, no food crisis
or catastrophe exists in Mali at the moment.  According to the USAID/DART,
food security in Mali remains critically dependent on rainfall in the
coming weeks.  A number of areas have not received good rains for the past
two weeks.  If two or three more decent rains fall, pastoralists and
animals will likely manage; if the rains fail, coping mechanisms will be
further eroded, and the lean season will begin earlier next year.

- The USAID/DART reported that the rainy season in many areas of the north
of Mali began in the first part of June 2005, earlier than average.  The
rains stopped suddenly one month later, and the grasses that recently
started growing began drying out.  Pastoralists in some hard-hit areas,
particularly in Kidal Region, began migrating southward very early in the
lean season to the last pasture reserves.  These conditions put added
stress on communities with already depleted resources.  In the past week,
however, the rains have reappeared and continue to fall, albeit
sporadically in some areas, giving a measure of relief to a precarious
situation.

- On August 18, the USAID/DART conducted an informal survey of grain
prices among pastoralists in the Goundam area.  Animal prices are
significantly devalued due to animals' poor health and deflated market
conditions.  The USAID/DART reported that market prices for grains are
substantially high - double or triple the usual price in some areas -
compared to normal years.  The terms of trade used by nomadic populations
to exchange animals for grain have deteriorated markedly.


- GOM and village leaders who met with the USAID/DART agreed that certain
communities require support during the current lean season.  Typically,
the lean season lasts two to three months, from August to October.  In
some areas, however, the lean season began in November 2004, and for
others in April 2005.  For this reason, coping mechanisms are being
exhausted and many government leaders reported that farmers are consuming
seeds and taking on large amounts of debt and some pastoralists were
migrating to reserve pastures.


Burkina Faso Update

- According to the USAID/DART, USAID implementing partner Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) reported that although recent rainfall has rendered some
agricultural plots more lush, the crop outcome is still in the balance.
Since rainfall is variable and it is still early in the crop development,
it is not yet possible to predict an outcome.  The Ministry of Agriculture
informed the USAID/DART that a crop projection will be carried out in
September as is normally done.  Early cessation of rainfall, could lead to
yield loss and greater food needs in the months to come.

- According to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS
NET), Burkina Faso is not experiencing a generalized food crisis, although
there are pockets of concern for food insecurity.  In the 2004/2005
growing season, a surplus of approximately 435,000 MT of grain was
produced.  The 2003/2004 growing season was a record year for production,
with a surplus of approximately 997,000 MT of grain.  Evaluations
performed in February, April, and June 2005 by U.N. agencies and FEWS NET
indicated that existing food security problems are associated with access
to and availability of food in the most affected areas.  In such areas, an
increase in grain prices and decrease in livestock prices have led to a
deterioration of the terms of trade of livestock for food.

- FEWS NET reported that in Burkina Faso, a rise in child malnutrition
often occurs during the lean period before the harvest.  A June 2005
assessment identified the malnutrition rate among children at
approximately 17 percent, comparable to the malnutrition rate of other
years in Burkina Faso.  FEWS NET reported that malnutrition is a concern
in all regions of the country, with some areas more seriously affected
than others.  FEWS NET reported that its analysis did not establish a
direct correlation between the level of agricultural production and
malnutrition rates in the country.


Mauritania Update

WFP reported that the August 3 coup did not significantly disrupt
commodity distributions.  According to FEWS NET, food security levels have
stabilized and improved in areas that have received WFP commodities.
However, food insecurity is increasing in areas that have not received
significant rains.  Where rains have fallen, the terms of trade have
improved for pastoralists.  According to WFP, as of mid-August, the
agro-pastoral regions of Mauritania have received above-average rainfall,
benefiting agricultural and pastoral activities.  The onset of rains,
however, as slowed distributions in southern Mauritania.  In addition,
seasonal flooding has cut off parts of Maghama, Mbout, Markeol, and
Kankossa districts from WFP warehouses.  Because of fuel shortages in
Tidjikja, food distributions in parts of the Tagant region have slowed.


Since it began distributing emergency commodities in April 2005, WFP has
distributed approximately 18,600 MT of food to more than 400,000
beneficiaries in the regions of Brakna, Gorgol, Tagant, Assaba, and Hodh
El Gharbi.  WFP and its implementing partners have continued food
distributions in spite of recent rains.

WFP reported that it is funding a food distribution to 16,000 children and
nursing mothers in more than 200 WFP-supported feeding centers.  When
school resumes with the start of the academic year in October, school
feeding activities will resume.  WHO plans to reach an additional 17,000
beneficiaries through its school feeding activites compared with the
previous academic year.



USAID ASSISTANCE

Regional Response

- The USAID-supported West Africa Regional Program (WARP) handles West
African development challenges that are most effectively addressed at a
regional level.  WARP works closely with USAID missions in the region,
including USAID's bilateral missions in Mali and Senegal, and U.S.
embassies in countries where USAID does not have a mission.  The Sahelian
countries benefit from WARP through their membership in the Permanent
Interstate Committee for Drought Control in Sahelian Africa (CILSS).
WARP supports activities in 19 West African countries, including Burkina
Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Niger.  WARP representatives are
currently working in the region to develop strategies to control market
fluctuation and implement near-term market interventions.

- In response to the 2004/2005 locust infestation, USAID provided nearly
$14 million to support locust control efforts throughout Sahelian West
Africa in FY 2005.  Through a grant to the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), USAID supported agricultural relief and recovery
programs, including the provision of
  livestock feed support and agricultural inputs for dry season gardening
activities, in Niger.  USAID provided support to the Government of Mali
for combating the locust infestation, providing pesticides, and funding
related control activities.  In Mauritania and Senegal, USAID supported
locust prevention and response activities, including an aerial spraying
campaign.


Niger

USAID has provided nearly $19 million in assistance to Niger to date in FY
2005.  These funds have supported food security and agriculture projects,
emergency and development food assistance, and airlifts of fortified food
for emergency nutrition programs.  USAID assistance funds programs focused
on human rights, community-based development, child survival and health,
and youth.  USAID also provided 12,230 MT of development food assistance
and 7,860 MT of emergency food assistance to Niger in FY 2005.


Mali

To date in FY 2005, USAID has provided more than $39 million in assistance
to Mali.  In FY 2005, USAID provided 1,710 MT of development food
commodities to Mali.  Additionally, USAID's development program in Mali
works to expand economic opportunities, particularly for the rural poor;
provides high impact health services to improve the health and welfare of
women and children; mitigates the spread of HIV/AIDS; improves the quality
of basic education; consolidates democracy through support of
decentralization; supports human rights; and accelerates overall
development by making information more widely accessible.


Burkina Faso

USAID has provided approximately $18 million in assistance to date in FY
2005.  USAID focuses the majority of its assistance to Burkina Faso on
improving food security.  In FY 2005, USAID has provided 24,240 MT of
development food commodities.  USAID also funds programs that support
local human rights, community-based development activities, political
party development, and technical assistance for elections.


Mauritania

To date in FY 2005, USAID has provided more than $16 million to various
programs in Mauritania.  USAID activities in Mauritania primarily focus on
improving food security.  USAID provided 15,080 MT of development food
assistance and 16,240 MT of emergency food assistance to Mauritania in FY
2005.  USAID also funded programs addressing human rights and
community-based development activities.


Senegal

To date in FY 2005, USAID has provided nearly $31 million to Senegal.
USAID activities in Senegal focus largely on the sectors of health,
economic growth, agriculture, and education.  USAID provided 4,390 MT of
development food assistance to Senegal in FY 2005.



BACKGROUND

In 2004, an early end to the rains and desert locust damage to pasture
lands adversely affected pasture availability and cereal production in
Sahelian West Africa.  These events exacerbated existing poverty and
vulnerabilities and resulted in elevated food insecurity in agro-pastoral
and pastoral zones in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.  The
situation in Niger is considered to be an emergency, with more than 2.7
million people affected.

In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania, more than two million people are
affected, and the situation in these countries warrants close monitoring.


Regional assessments have used the word "affected" to impart that this
population was impacted in some way by either locust infestation or the
early cessation of rains.  Affected populations have varying levels of
humanitarian needs.  Some may require food distributions, while others may
require little or no assistance of any kind.  USAID recognizes that
endemic poverty and underdevelopment are critical factors contributing to
the current humanitarian emergency and is committed to addressing these
factors through an appropriate combination of USAID development and
humanitarian assistance.

According to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS
NET), recent assessments continue to show consistent rainfall and good
crop and pasture conditions in most of Niger and almost all of the rest of
Sahelian West Africa.  The short-term outlook for these conditions is for
continued improvement.  Prospects for crop harvests in Niger and the rest
of Sahelian West Africa are generally good to excellent, with the
exception of certain areas in the pastoral zone of the Tillaberi and
western Tahoua regions in Niger; these zones had intermittent rains and an
extended dry spell this year.  Loss of assets or livestock over the past
year may result in continued vulnerability for some families beyond the
harvest.

In response to the humanitarian emergency, USAID deployed a USAID/DART to
Sahelian West Africa on August 3, 2005.  USAID/DART staff include a public
health and nutrition specialists, a water and sanitation specialist, food
aid officers, and information officers.  Additional USAID/DART members
already in the region include regional advisors for North and West Africa,
a development officer, and a FEWS NET representative.  On August 11, USAID
activated a Response Management Team (RMT) in Washington, D.C. to assist
the USAID/DART.




USAID ASSISTANCE TO NIGER

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/OFDA ASSISTANCE (3)

CRS
  Food Security/Agriculture
  Tillaberi and Zinder
  $494,513

FAO
  Food Security/Agriculture
  Countrywide
  $50,000

UNICEF
  Airlift of 251 MT of fortified food for emergency nutrition programs
  Countrywide
  $543,826

World Vision
  Nutrition
  Maradi and Zinder
  $1,087,711

Helen Keller International
  Nutrition
  Diffa
  $1,091,471

CDC
  Nutritional Survey
  Countrywide
  $16,000

TOTAL USAID/OFDA
  $3,283,521

USAID/FFP ASSISTANCE

Consortium including Africare, Catholic Relief Services, CARE, and Helen
Keller International
  12,230 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Development Food Assistance
  Agadez, Dosso, Tahoua, and Zinder
  $7,390,000

WFP
  7,860 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Emergency Food Assistance
  Countrywide
  $5,800,000

TOTAL USAID/FFP
  $13,190,000


USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE


  Youth Programs
  $500,000


  Democracy and Human Rights Fund
  $92,000


  Special Self-Help
  $74,000


  Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative
  $1,050,000


  WARP Support
  $732,000

TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $2,448,000


TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO NIGER IN FY 2005
  $18,921,521




3 USAID/OFDA funding represents anticipated or actual obligated amounts as
of August 23, 2005.





USAID ASSISTANCE TO MALI

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/FFP ASSISTANCE (4)

Africare
  1,710 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Development Food Assistance
  Timbuktu Region
  $930,000

WFP
  1,000 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Emergency Food Assistance
  Countrywide
  $667,100

TOTAL USAID/FFP
  $1,597,100

USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE


  Economic Growth (5)
  $1,723,000


  Education
  $5,755,000


  Democracy and Governance
  $1,447,000


  Health
  $15,705,000


  Agriculture/Environment (5)
  $11,044,000


  Democracy and Human Rights Fund
  $70,000


  Special Self-Help Fund
  $77,000


  Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative
  $725,000


  WARP Support
  $1,389,000

TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $37,935,000

TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO MALI IN FY 2005
  $39,532,100



4 For Reporting purposes, USAID/Mali's P.L. 480 Title II program is
combined with the P.L. 480 Title II program in Chad.  The implementing
partner is responsible for reporting on both Mali and Chad.  The
referenced figures are therefore not reflected in Mali's Congressional
Budget Justification (CBJ).

5 This total includes funding for the locust response.



USAID ASSISTANCE TO MAURITANIA

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/OFDA ASSISTANCE (6)

DFS
  Locust Response

  $177,777

World Vision
  Supplementary Feeding Program

  $50,000

TOTAL USAID/OFDA
  $227,777

USAID/FFP ASSISTANCE

World Vision and the Doulos Community
  19,330 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Development Food Assistance
  Nouakchott
  $6,579,600

WFP
  16,240 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Emergency Food Assistance
  Brakna, Gorgol, Tagant, Assaba, and Hodh El Gharbi
  $8,671,700

TOTAL USAID/FFP
  $15,251,300


USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE


  Democracy and Human Rights Fund
  $80,000


  Special Self-Help Fund
  $87,000


  Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative
  $250,000


  WARP Support
  $459,000


TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $876,000

TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO MAURITANIA IN FY 2005
  $16,355,077



6 USAID/OFDA funding represents anticipated or actual obligated amounts as
of August 23, 2005.






USAID ASSISTANCE TO BURKINA FASO

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/FFP ASSISTANCE

Africare, Catholic Relief Services
  24,240 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Development Food Assistance
  Zondoma province (Africare); all 45 provinces (CRS)
  $15,570,000

TOTAL USAID/FFP
  $15,570,000

USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE


  Democracy and Human Rights Fund
  $69,500


  Special Self-Help fund
  $104,000


  WARP Support
  $1,628,000


  Economic Support Fund
  $463,000

TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $2,264,500

TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO BURKINA FASO IN FY 2005
  $17,834,500





USAID ASSISTANCE TO SENEGAL

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/FFP ASSISTANCE

Counterpart International
  4,390 MT of P.L. 480 Title II Development Food Assistance
  Countrywide
  $2,268,700

TOTAL USAID/FFP
  $2,268,700

USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE


  Economic Growth (7)
  $2,474,810


  Basic Education
  $2,927,000


  Democracy and Governance
  $1,655,000


  Health
  $14,775,000


  Agriculture/Environment (7)
  $5,188,000


  Human Rights
  $500,000


  Democracy and Human Rights Fund
  $70,500


  Special Self-Help Fund
  $80,000


  Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative
  $175,000


  WARP Support
  $803,000


TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $28,648,310

TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO SENEGAL IN FY 2005
  $30,917,010


7 This total includes funding for the locust response.




USAID REGIONAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCUST RESPONSE

Implementing Partner
  Activity
  Location
  Amount

USAID/OFDA ASSISTANCE (8)

FAO
  Locust Response
  Chad
  $50,000

AFCAP
  Locust Response
  Mauritania and Senegal
  $2,555,761

DFS
  Locust Response
  Mauritania and Senegal
  $3,101,735

Admin
  Locust Response
  Mauritania and Senegal
  $74,302

USAID/Senegal
  Locust Response
  Mauritania and Senegal
  $50,000

Gov. of Morocco
  Locust Response
  Morocco
  $1,500,000

TOTAL USAID/OFDA
  $7,331,798



USAID/AFR ASSISTANCE (9)

USAID/WARP
  Locust Response
  Regional
  $1,500,000

TOTAL USAID/AFR
  $1,500,000

USAID/ANE ASSISTANCE

Gov. of Morocco
  Locust Response
  Morocco
  $1,500,000

TOTAL USAID/ANE
  $1,500,000

TOTAL USAID REGIONAL ASSISTANCE TO LOCUST RESPONSE IN FY 2005
  $10,331,798



8 USAID/OFDA funding represents anticipated or actual obligated amounts as
of August 23, 2005.

9 In addition, USAID/AFR provided $1 million to Mali and $2.5 million to
Senegal for locust response, which is reflected in the "USAID Assistance
to Mali" and "USAID Assistance to Senegal" charts.


TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO BURKINA FASO, MALI, MAURITANIA, NIGER, AND SAHEL
LOCUST RESPONSE IN FY 2005

  $133,892,006





PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash
contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief
operations.  Information on identifying such organizations is available in
the "How Can I Help" section of www.usaid.gov - Keyword: Sahel, or by
calling The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) at
703-276-1914.

USAID encourages cash donations because they:  allow aid professionals to
procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the
burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time,
warehouse space, etc); can be transferred very quickly and without
transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region;
and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate
assistance.

More information can be found at:

- USAID:  www.usaid.gov - Keyword: Donations
- The Center for International Disaster Information:  www.cidi.org or
   703-276-1914
- Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be
   found at www.reliefweb.int.


USAID bulletins appear on the USAID web site at
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

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