U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
Sahelian West Africa - Humanitarian Emergency
Fact Sheet #6, Fiscal Year (FY) 2005  September 9, 2005


Note:  The last fact sheet was dated September 2, 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   $134,098,006

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

Niger Update

- The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) Livelihoods
Specialist and Food Aid Officer traveled to Maradi Region from September 5
to 6 to meet with USAID implementing partner World Vision, which has
completed the first tranche of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) food
distributions and is preparing for second tranche distributions to begin
in one to two weeks.  World Vision anticipates completing all general
distribution activities prior to the upcoming harvest.

- World Vision is conducting WFP general distribution activities outside
of their normal operating areas, which have fared better in response to
this year's series of shocks than surrounding communities.  Remaining
short-, middle-, and long-term needs include support to cereal banks,
cash-for-work activities, micro-credit programs, and health and hygiene
promotion.

- The USAID/DART Trade and Investment Specialist assessed Niger's role in
regional food markets and the role these markets played in the current
food and nutrition crisis.  Due to poor agricultural production, cereal
prices were higher than normal in 2005, reducing households' purchasing
power and the availability of imported food in Nigerien markets.  The lack
of attractive prices and profitable transactions, rather than unofficial
export bans imposed by the Government of Burkina Faso, resulted in the
negligible movement of agricultural commodities between Burkina Faso and
Niger during the past year.

- On September 2, the bypass at the washed-out bridge in Guene, Benin also
washed out.  This bypass was a key transit point for relief commodities
entering Niger from the port of Cotonou.  Lines of vehicles several
kilometers long formed on both sides of the bridge.  On September 8, the
temporary bypass was re-opened for heavy trucks, and WFP plans to install
a baily bridge within six weeks.

- Partially funded by USAID, the WFP Humanitarian Air Service (HAS) began
service on August 29.  WFP HAS typically operates flights four days a week
between Niamey, Maradi, Zinder, Tahoua, and Agadez.  From August 29 to 31,
WFP HAS transported 12 passengers and 300 kg of humanitarian cargo.

- The Government of Niger's Ministry of Health (MOH) and the U.N. World
Health Organization (WHO) continue to closely monitor outbreaks of
communicable diseases.  The MOH National Health Surveillance System
coordinates health reporting and compiles nationwide health data.  The
data reported, however, may not be representative of health conditions
throughout the country.  Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and
mortality, with nearly 20,000 cases reported in the first week of
September.  However, this number is significantly lower than the caseloads
of 2003 and 2004.


Mali Update

- The USAID/DART in Mali traveled through Kidal Region from September 5 to
9 to perform an assessment of the food security situation in the area.
On September 8, the USAID/DART traveled to Aguelhok to visit a therapeutic
feeding program run by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) that is currently
serving two severely malnourished children.  While in Aguelhok, the
USAID/DART met with the town's mayor, who stated that his top priority for
Aguelhok is replenishing herds depleted by the recent fodder shortage.


- On September 7, the USAID/DART held meetings in Kidal with WFP and NGOs,
including ACF, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), and several local NGOs.  On
September 6, the USAID/DART traveled from Kidal town to Abeibara to
conduct an assessment.

- From August 26 to 28, the Assistant Administrator of USAID's Bureau for
Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistant, Michael Hess, traveled
with the USAID/DART through Bourem district in Gao Region, a structurally
poor area that was especially hard hit by the effects of drought and
livestock losses this year.  On August 27, the delegation stopped at the
health center in Hamakouladji where women and children had gathered to
receive supplementary rations for malnourished children.  The USAID/DART
noted that the health center was providing instructions on the proper way
to mix the enriched flour, sugar, and oil they received from WFP.  Health
center staffers stated that in July, 125 children were screened for
malnutrition, of whom 5 were severely malnourished, 40 were moderately
malnourished, 41 slightly malnourished, and 39 in good nutritional status.

- While in Hamakouladji, USAID/DART representatives discussed a
food-for-work (FFW) program, operated in conjunction with WFP, with
representatives of the local NGO running the program.  This program is
structured such that WFP provides the food commodities and the local NGO
manages the activities.  Through this program, men and women participants
build gravity-fed irrigation channels and receive 2.5 to 5 kg of grain per
person per day in return.  The local NGO reported that the program has
grown significantly since its inception.

- On August 26, the USAID/DART met with the Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWS NET) representative in Mali.  In late 2004, the locust
emergency combined with drought caused alarm among authorities in the
Government of Mali, and media sources began spreading the message that a
famine was looming.  This negatively impacted market functions and pushed
commodity prices higher than ever before.  Simultaneously, producers held
back reserves, difficulties in Cote D'Ivoire stopped corn imports from
entering Mali, and higher purchasing power in neighboring countries caused
private regional cereal exporters to sell grains for higher prices abroad.
In addition, fuel prices, at all-time highs, increased transportation
costs to remote areas.  These and other factors contributed to the current
situation in Mali.


Burkina Faso Update

- From August 30 to 31, the USAID/DART and a U.S. Embassy representative
conducted a field assessment to Thou, Yatenga Province, and Banh, Loroum
Province, in the northern region of Burkina Faso.  The team noted that
food security in Banh was precarious as villagers expect this year's
harvest to produce only three months' worth of food.  USAID/DART
assessments showed that water retention structures, better management of
available water, and cereal banks are needed to improve communities'
resilience to future food security shocks.

- From August 24 to 27, the USAID/DART conducted a field assessment in
Burkina Faso's Northern and Sahel regions.  The primary source of income
in the provinces visited is agriculture, and secondary sources of income
include raising livestock, gardening, and trade.  Although the food
security situation is not approaching emergency levels, village residents
stated that the food situation is much worse now than at the same time
last year.

- Inadequate availability of and access to cereals have contributed to the
current localized food crisis in Burkina Faso.  A report published in
October 2004 by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in
the Sahel (CILSS), the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), FEWS
NET, and WFP discusses the factors that curtailed food availability.
Significant farm level, commercial, and security cereal stocks were
available until August 2004.  In the southern and western parts of the
country, large amounts of stocks were available, and traders from Cote
d'Ivoire and Ghana purchased much of these stocks because regions of both
of these countries experienced droughts in 2004.  In October 2004, farm
level stocks in some regions were low, and prices started to increase more
rapidly than is normal prior to the harvest.  The poor integration of
Burkina Faso's markets and extremely low output in the north were expected
to drive down food availability on the national level.

- Access to food also contributed to the current localized food crisis in
Burkina Faso.  According to the joint assessment report, in the southern
part of Burkina Faso in 2004/2005, access to food was expected to be
favorable due to existing stocks and a promising harvest.  The northern
parts of the country, however, experienced rapid price increases beginning
in mid-September 2004.  At the same time, livestock prices dropped by 50
percent.  The report predicted a severe decline in food security in the
Sahel Region by December 2004.

- Malnutrition in children under five years of age in Burkina Faso is a
complex phenomenon that is not linked to agricultural production.
Preliminary results from a meta analysis by WFP, the U.N. Children's Fund
(UNICEF), and the Institute for Research and Development indicate that
diet is not the primary cause of malnutrition in Burkina Faso.  Factors
that are strongly correlated to malnutrition include the mother's
education level, poor weaning practices, lack of access to clean drinking
water, and precarious health status with frequent malaria and/or diarrheal
disease episodes in the two weeks prior to the survey.


Mauritania Update

- From August 29 to September 4, the USAID/DART traveled over 1,500
kilometers in southwestern and southeastern Mauritania, from Nouakchott to
Bassikinou.  Due to rains that began in July, pastures are green and
grazing conditions are good.  Rainfall amounts were normal in August.  If
the rainy season is average or above average, grazing conditions will be
very good.  The USAID/DART observed numerous camels, goats, and cows, and
they reported that the animals appeared healthy.  In parts of Mauritania,
the planting season has begun, and sorghum and millet plants are more than
one foot high.  The area planted is less than normal, however, due to
reduced access to seeds.

- On August 27 and 28, the USAID/DART traveled to Rosso, a city in the
Trarza Region of southwest Mauritania.  In early August, the first rains
of the season flooded a portion of Rosso, affecting approximately 10,000
people.  City officials, the military, and the National Food Security
Commission (CSA) have provided food, water, medical attention, and
temporary shelter to affected populations.

- On August 29, FEWS NET reported that approximately 1.8 million people in
Mauritania were considered food insecure as a result of locusts and
drought in 2004.  In mid-August, approximately 500,000 of the 1.2 million
people identified as vulnerable were receiving assistance from at least
one emergency relief agency.  Emergency operations for an additional
700,000 persons have been hampered by recent heavy rainfall that washed
out roads and prevented access to affected areas.  Serious food security
problems persist, in particular among the poor agricultural households of
the Aftout, the southeast of the two Hodhs, and the river valley, as well
as in the agro-pastoral and pastoral households affected by poor terms of
trade and five years of poor agricultural production.



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 such organizations
as the West African Economic and Monetary Union, the Economic Community of
West African States, and 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 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 more than $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 community-based development, child survival and
health, youth, and human rights.  USAID has 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 has provided 1,710 MT of development food
commodities and 1,000 MT of emergency 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.


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 has provided 19,330 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.


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.


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 has 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
2 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 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 steady improvement.  Prospects for
crop harvests in Niger and the rest of the Sahel 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 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.

FAO reported on August 25 that low numbers of scattered solitarious adult
locusts have been found in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, and reports of
limited locust breeding have come from Mauritania.  Ground surveys
supplemented by helicopters are underway in the Sahel to detect the first
signs of an increase in the locust population.  However, locust control
operations in these countries have not been needed this growing season.

Assistant Administrator Michael Hess traveled to Niger and Mali from
August 19 to 28 to visit USAID-funded projects in affected areas and
conduct humanitarian assessments with USAID/DART representatives in the
field.  Assistant Administrator Hess and his delegation reported that
fields are green and crops appear abundant and healthy throughout Mali,
and that Niger will probably have a good harvest this year.  However,
Assistant Administrator Hess expressed concern with household debt levels
throughout the region due to household borrowing to survive the current
lean season and carry-over debt from the lean season in 2004.




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

WFP
  Humanitarian Air Passenger Service
  Countrywide
  $125,000

CDC
  Nutritional Survey
  Countrywide
  $97,000

TOTAL USAID/OFDA
  $3,489,521



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
  $19,127,521


3 USAID/OFDA funding represents anticipated or actual obligated amounts as
of September 9, 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/Environment5

  $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 September 9, 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 Growth7

  $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 September 9, 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

  $134,098,006



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.

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Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
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Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
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                                   guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
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