ReliefWeb

WFP Sahel response

WFP’s food and nutrition activities are implemented in a phased approach through a multi-sectoral response so as to better meet people’s needs during the different seasons of the year. Lean season activities, which include unconditional targeted food and cash & voucher distributions as well as blanket and supplementary feeding programmes, are coming to an end.

In August, WFP supported nearly 5.5 million people through food and nutrition assistance. 4.3 million people across all affected countries were provided with targeted distributions, including 248,000 Malian refugees and internally displaced people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. 1.6 million people in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal received cash or vouchers to purchase their food locally. 53,000 people were reached in Mali through food-for-work activities, which will be scaled up again after the harvest.

Under the nutrition response, WFP assisted around 1.4 million children and women in August for the prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition. This includes 928,000 aged 6-23 months and pregnant and nursing mothers through blanket supplementary feeding activities in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and The Gambia. Under targeted supplementary programmes, 497,000 children aged 6-59 months and pregnant and nursing mothers were treated in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.

Achievements were made despite localized flooding, which rendered roads impassable and access to distribution sites difficult. Where possible, WFP and partners mitigated the impact of the flooding through prepositioning food at alternative warehouses, setting up mobile storage units and establishing alternate access routes.
In close collaboration with governments and partners, assessments to determine levels of food insecurity are being conducted in all Sahel countries in order to shape the upcoming phase of the response after the harvest. Many of these assessments will examine the impact of the drought, prospects for the harvests, the functioning of markets and the impact of the Mali crisis. Post-distribution monitoring assessments (PDMs) are also being conducted to evaluate various activities that have been implemented so far. In Niger, PDMs on blanket feeding and cash and food-for-work activities are being finalized..