Hunger in the Sahel worsens: 36 million people facing severe food insecurity

The African Sahel region is experiencing one of the most severe food crises in its recent history. According to the latest estimates, more than 36 million people are suffering from severe food insecurity across the belt stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia.

The convergence of multiple factors makes the situation particularly difficult to reverse. Recurring droughts, worsened by climate change, have drastically reduced subsistence harvests. At the same time, active armed conflicts in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and northern Nigeria have displaced farmers from their land and cut traditional trade routes.

Acute child malnutrition has reached emergency levels in several areas. In the northern regions of Mali and eastern Burkina Faso, global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates exceed 15%, the emergency threshold set by the WHO.

Rising food prices, partly attributable to the global repercussions of the war in Ukraine on grain markets, have worsened market access for the poorest families. Wheat, millet and sorghum — staples of the Sahelian diet — have become significantly more expensive.

The lack of investment in irrigation infrastructure and dependence on rain-fed agriculture make the region especially vulnerable to changes in rainfall patterns. Without structural solutions combining security, climate adaptation and economic development, experts warn that food crises in the Sahel will become increasingly frequent and intense.