Sahel & East Africa Appeal
Thanks for helping people in the Sahel and eastern Africa through Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Click here to go to our secure online donation page to make your donation.
Over 23 million people in Africa’s Sahel region and East Africa face severe food shortages this year.
The Sahel
In the Sahel—a sub-Sahara region that stretches across Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea—as many as 14 million people face severe food shortages due to late and erratic rains that have crippled harvests, together with rising food prices.
About 5.4 million people are affected in Niger, three million in Mali, 1.7 million in Burkina Faso, 3.6 million in Chad, and hundreds of thousands in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania.
Click here for a one-page fact sheet about the food crisis in the Sahel.
Click here to see images from Niger.
East Africa
East Africa is no longer in the news, but people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya still will require food assistance—the climatic conditions linked to the drought in the region in 2011 are predicted to continue in 2012.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 9.5 million people will need assistance in East Africa this year: 2.3 million in Somalia, 4.3 million in Kenya and about three million in Ethiopia.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank Response in the Sahel and East Africa
To date, the Foodgrains Bank has committed $10.9 million to countries in the Sahel. These projects will reach 324,000 people. Additional projects are in the planning stages.
Countries that will receive aid are Niger, Sudan and Mali. The assistance will be provided through Foodgrains Bank members Christian and Missionary Alliance, ADRA Canada, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Mennonite Central Committee and World Relief Canada. Presbyterian World Service and Development and The United Church of Canada are also providing funding for these projects.
For East Africa, over $15.6 million has been committed to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia since April, 2011, with plans for an additional $3.1 million of assistance in the works.
Member agencies providing assistance in the region are Mennonite Central Committee, Christian Reformed World Relief, Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, World Relief Canada, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Canadian Baptist Ministries, Presbyterian World Service and Development, the United Church of Canada, and ERDO.
The responses have been made possible with support from the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Sahel & East Africa News and Updates
Food Getting to People in Need in Niger, May 9, 2011
Food Distribution Saving Lives in Niger, May 8, 2011
The Biggest Sickness: Hunger in Niger, May 6, 2011
Three New Projects Committed to Sahel Food Crisis, May 2, 2011
New Photos: Food Distributed in North Eastern Kenya, February 16, 2012
Sahel Area of Africa Threatened by Looming Food Crisis, February 15, 2012
Aid for East Africa Too Slow: Report, January 25, 2012
East Africa Response Update, December 16, 2011
Food Distribution Saves Widow's Land, November 25, 2011
Poor Rains Expected to Delay Drought Recovery in East Africa, October 21, 2011
Responding to Ethiopia’s “Green Famine”, September 30, 2011
Click here to read more at our news archive for East Africa food crisis 2011.
Free Prayers & Litanies for People who are hungry
As Christians, two ways to respond to the food crisis in the Sahel and eastern Africa are: Donate money, and pray.
Click here for prayers and litanies churches can use to remember people who are hungry.
Ration Meal Fundraiser for People in the Sahel and East Africa
Are you wondering what you, your family or your church can do to remember people suffering from drought and hunger in east Africa? One way is by eating a simple meal—a meal of toast and butter, or a ration meal, similar to what is provided in refugee camps—then donating the funds saved to help people in that region. Click here for recipes, ideas, and other resources to help you remember, reflect and give to help people who don’t have enough to eat.
Video
Dancing on Water (7:04)
A People in Crisis: Drought in Kenya (4:47)
East Africa Food Crisis Video (2:53)
Images
Click here for images from East Africa.
Top image:
Refugee dwellings at Ayorou Camp, Niger. Photo credit: ADRA Niger c/o ADRA Canada