Almost 3 million children are facing a growing hunger crisis triggered by crop shortages, rising food prices and insecurity in Niger and neighbouring countries in the Sahel region of West Africa. Save the Children are already on the ground, urgently working to reach vulnerable families but they need help. Sophisticated early warning systems are predicting that 6 million people, half of them children, could be left without enough to eat later this year, after poor harvests led to food shortages and a spike in food prices. Meanwhile, instability in the region has affected cross-border trade, meaning countries like Niger are unable to import many of the staples upon which they rely in times of shortage. Save the Children are looking to see if early funding made available in the West Africa Sahel region can head off the crisis before it peaks and they’ve launched an emergency appeal to pay for vital work that could prevent millions of children from falling into severe malnutrition.
To Open Our Eyes: Save the Children’s Appeal for West Africa
