Written question asked by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Social Democratic & Labour Party) on Tuesday, 12 June 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 June 2012. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Sahel

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the situation in the Sahel region of West Africa; and if he will make a statement.

[112282]

Answer

According to latest reports by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 18 million men, women and children across the Sahel region of West Africa are at risk of food shortages in the coming months. This includes over 1.5 million children under the age of five, who are at risk of becoming severely malnourished.

I have recently announced a further package of UK support to help mitigate the crisis. Through this assistance, British aid will support over 1.4 million people at risk of hunger across Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Burkina Faso in 2012.

UK officials continue to monitor the situation closely and liaise with their opposite numbers in other Governments to ensure that other countries take their fair share of the response.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 112282; 546 c913W
Session: 2012-13
Subjects: Sahel
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Sahel

Secondary information

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