UNO Warns of West Africa Crisis

Never the most hospitable of regions, the Sahara desert is home to hundreds of thousands of people who have nowhere else to go. The UN World Food Programme appealed today for emergency support to save these people from starvation.

The WPF needs 28 million USD in the short term to feed 420,000 people most at threat after three consecutive years without rain have brought the formerly meagre harvests to a standstill. The area most affected is southern Mauritania, The Gambia, Mali, Senegal and the Cape Verde islands.

In the worst-affected areas, food stocks will be at rupture point by the end of January. The government in Mauritaniaґs capital, Nouakchott, has already declared a state of emergency. Hundreds of thousands of people will die of starvation in the medium term unless urgent aid is received.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru