La UE ha decidido responder a la crisis alimentaria que afecta a la región del Sahel, proporcionando ayuda alimentaria a Senegal, en colaboración con el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA), para las 314000 personas más vulnerables de las zonas de mayor riesgo –Casamance (Ziguinchor , Sedhiou y Kolda), Tambacounda, Kédougou y Matam.
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Brussels, 13 July 2012

Food security: EU aid for over 310 000 people in Senegal

The EU has decided to respond to the food crisis affecting the Sahel region by providing food aid to Senegal, in partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), for the 314 000 most vulnerable people in the areas most at risk – Casamance (Ziguinchor, Sedhiou and Kolda), Tambacounda, Kédougou and Matam.

Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development, said: “The food crisis is threatening hundreds of thousands of lives in Senegal. We must show solidarity and support the Senegalese Government at this difficult juncture, in both the short and medium terms. The aid we are giving today is in addition to our efforts to reinforce Senegal’s agricultural systems and make the Sahel region countries more resilient to external shocks».

Amounting to €5 million, the aid programme is a backup to the humanitarian programmes of ECHO – the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department – and will provide a three-pronged response up to March 2013:

• Targeted food hand-outs: with the early start to the annual lean season, in other words the period prior to the first harvests during which there may be a shortfall of grain from the previous harvest, 58 000 people will receive full food rations;

• Vouchers: 70 000 people will receive vouchers which can be exchanged for staple food items; some 180 000 children and adults will receive food targeted at 30 000 pregnant women and mothers of children under the age of five. These women will also receive appropriate training in nutrition and food hygiene;

• Food for work: 34 500 people will receive food aid in exchange for work in building or renovating the agricultural infrastructure used to produce and store food.

Background

Senegal suffered low and erratic rainfall in 2011, resulting in a poor harvest in 2011/2012. Grain production was 36% down on the previous year and 20% lower than the average for the five previous years. For groundnuts, the main leguminous plant grown in Senegal, these rates were 59% and 31% respectively.

The food reserves of the communities hardest hit are almost exhausted. Over half of the people of Ziguinchor, Kolda, Sedhiou, Kédougou, Fatick and Kaolack (or six of the fourteen regions) have insufficient access to food (food insecurity rate of over 50%). This rate will probably continue to rise because of the longer lean season, which started in March rather than July this year.

In all, 739 000 people living in rural areas are in a fragile situation as regards food resources and need assistance up until the harvest in October. Likewise, an estimated 67 000 people in urban areas will be affected by the crisis and will need emergency food aid.

More Info: European Commission – Press release