This contribution will allow the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to bring together and extend their complementary initiatives and expertise in implementing the Sahel Resilience Partnership (2023-2027) targeting the most vulnerable and climate-affected people in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
"The Sahel region and Europe are neighbours. As good neighbours, we care about each other. As the German Development Minister, working with the Sahel region is one of my top priorities. Fortunately, we can count on good partners across the region. By working with UNICEF, WFP and GIZ, many communities were able to achieve food security when the last food crisis struck. We will continue to work together to strengthen this kind of resilience," said Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Sahel is one of the most structurally vulnerable regions on the continent, affected by climate extremes such as droughts and floods, as well as deepening economic inequalities, political instability, and violent conflict. The climate crisis has contributed to increased desertification and soil degradation.
These vulnerabilities result in recurrent food crises, which are increasing in magnitude and severity. Since 2018 the number of food insecure people in the Sahel has nearly tripled, with nearly 11 million people out of a total population of 94 million expected to be food insecure during the 2024 lean season.
Through the German contribution, WFP, UNICEF and GIZ will use a multi-sectoral approach to create more opportunities for people and systems to cope with crises, prepare themselves for recurring shocks and stressors in order to mitigate negative effects of crises and gradually overcome them permanently through structural changes.
"Empowering families and communities with resources, knowledge and the support needed to manage threats and to ensure food security is key to building long-term resilience. Sustainable food systems will break the cycle of repeated hunger crises in Western Africa," said Margot van der Velden, WFP's acting Regional Director for Western Africa.
"WFP is committed to working in support of national governments, and with partners, donors and local communities to transform local food systems and ensure women, men and children have regular access to food and basic social services," she added.
Through converging interventions in the same communities and locations, WFP, UNICEF and GIZ aim to provide a critical mass of resilience interventions that will achieve a sustainable impact.
"This innovative programme has the kind of scale and coordination to really make a difference to women and children in the Sahel,'' said Gilles Fagninou, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
"The goal is to strengthen the capacity of systems, communities and individuals to cope on their own with the shocks that are bound to come. Our work will strengthen child-centred social services in areas like nutrition, education, clean water, social protection and health,'' he added.
UNICEF, WFP and GIZ commit to addressing the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis by tackling its root causes and building a more robust and resilient system that provides affordable, accessible and nutritious food to families and communities.
Since 2018, WFP and UNICEF - with the support of Germany through the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) - have contributed to building the resilience of over three million vulnerable people that face multiple shocks and stresses, including the food and nutrition crisis. These efforts helped to significantly reduce humanitarian needs over time. For instance, despite a challenging context, supported households have seen their food security improve. Studies and evaluations have also shown that resilience interventions have helped communities be better equipped to manage shocks and stressors and contributed to increasing social cohesion and reducing tensions over natural resources, a key driver of conflict in the Sahel.
Building on the results of German-funded resilience programmes, BMZ, GIZ, WFP and UNICEF aim to form a strategic partnership for resilience strengthening in the Sahel as joint initiative of the Sahel Alliance.
"Humanitarian aid should never be a long-term endeavour; a focus on development should prepare the future quickly: that is what we stand for," said Petra Warnecke, GIZ's Director General of the Africa Department.
"GIZ supports the local population in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad in enhancing food and nutritional security, governance of resources and social cohesion. We build on our long-standing network in the region to strengthen resilience and avert long-term dependence on humanitarian aid," she added.
GIZ's multi-sectoral and climate-adapted interventions build resilience on the local level. The project complements WFP's and UNICEF's measures to build stabilisation capacities by focusing on adaptation and transformation capacities.
As part of the resilience-building effort, UNICEF and WFP will deepen and expand their ongoing support to national social protection systems so that they are responsive to shocks and sensitive to nutrition for pregnant women, nursing mothers, young children and adolescents.
UNICEF and WFP already work together on a joint social protection programme in Mali, Mauritania, and Niger supporting 2.5 million people through cash-based transfers and complementary services. This support will soon be extended to cover the same five Sahel countries by extension of the programme to Burkina Faso and Chad thanks to a new EUR 40 million contribution from Germany (BMZ). The support of social protection will be strongly interlinked with the new Sahel Resilience Partnership to complement efforts and maximize impact.
