UN says 6 million struggling to get food in West Africa's Sahel region
UNITED NATIONS: The UN humanitarian chief warned that nearly 6 million people are struggling to get food in West Africa's Sahel region and severe malnutrition is threatening the lives of 1.6 million children.
Mark Lowcock said in a statement that these levels haven't been seen since a crisis in 2012 "and the most critical months are still ahead." He said the rapid deterioration in recent months in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal "reveals an urgent need for more donor support." He said UN plans to respond to the crisis in the six countries are only 26 per cent funded and he urged donors for additional support. "We can still avert the worst," he said.