Central Sahel

The Central Sahel border region between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is the epicentre of one of the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crises.  Violence between armed groups, natural disasters brought on by climate change and widespread poverty have pushed a record 13.4 million people to need humanitarian assistance across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Five million of them are children.

Civilians are getting killed in hostilities between armed groups and caught up in inter-communal violence and military operations. A dangerous cycle of violence has developed whereby grievances over competition over access to land and water are exploited by bandits, criminal and jihadi networks, fuelling fighting, which leads to military crackdowns, which further ramp up inter-communal violence.

In less than two years, violence and insecurity in Central Sahel have driven 1.4 million people into internal displacement, a twenty-fold increase, and have led 6.6 million people to acute hunger levels – a massive increase on average levels of the past five years. Lockdowns and other COVID-19 prevention measures have pushed an additional 6 million people into extreme poverty.

Frequent attacks have closed  health centres and other social infrastructure. Closures of schools linked to attacks and COVID-19 have left 8 million children in the Central Sahel missing out on education. This puts them at greater risk of exploitation and forced recruitment into armed groups - practices that are on the rise.

Humanitarian Response in Sahel

Local and international NGOs and UN agencies are on the ground to support and complement  governments’ humanitarian responses. Their coordinated and sustained efforts have saved and protected millions of lives. Aid agencies have provided nutrition and food, health services, water and sanitation, shelter, education, protection, and support to survivors of gender-based violence.

So far this year, we have reached 1.8 million people in Burkina Faso, 1.3 million in Mali, and 500,000 in Niger with humanitarian assistance. We have achieved this with just 40 per cent of the humanitarian funding we require. If our humanitarian appeals are fully funded, we can scale up our operations and protect and save many more lives.

Humanitarian organizations require US$1.4 billion to provide emergency assistance for the remainder of 2020 and in 2021. We urge international donors not to look the other way. We can immediately expand our operations as soon as the funding comes through.

Continued support to national and local humanitarian organizations will be critical to sustain access to vulnerable people in hard-to reach areas.

Triple Nexus and Durable Solutions Urgently Required

At the same time, all governments and State and non-State armed groups must uphold their obligations to international humanitarian law and respect for humanitarian principles, which are challenging to uphold in an increasingly militarized and politicized operational environment. Peace, development, and humanitarian action are all required to achieve lasting development in the Sahel.  All stakeholders in Sahel must agree to durable solutions to the current complex crises.

Humanitarian action can stop the emergency situation from getting worse, but alone, it is not enough. Likewise, achieving peace must go beyond military solutions. Strong governance and development is necessary to turn this crisis around in the long run.

Political solutions are needed to tackle the root causes of instability and break the cycle of violence. This includes investing in conflict resolution to prevent tensions from turning into violence, and peacebuilding to help rebuild the social fabric.

Without strong political solutions, the crisis risks further spreading into vulnerable communities across West Africa, potentially into Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Togo and beyond.

Political and development support is needed to help governments both reopen and strengthen schools, health clinics and other services and give people a chance to earn a living – particularly the many young people in the region. These activities must include fair access to land, water and other vital resources in rural areas.

The Central Sahel has seen its fair share of problems. Communities are resilient and well-versed in peaceably resolving their differences. Natural resources that if well-harnessed, could support millions. A vibrant youth population ready and eager to work. The right kind of help can give those youth hope for a better future.