The race against time in the Sahel

Millions of people could go hungry without more immediate aid due to a severe drought in the western Sahel region of Africa. This week UN agencies called for united action now before a full blown disaster occurs. The World Food Programme is planning to aid 8 million people in the region in the coming months.

Lydia O’Kane spoke to WFP Regional Director for West Africa, Thomas Yanga about the challenges they face. He says the drought situation is being compounded by food shortages, high food prices and an influx of refugees and returnees to the countries affected. “For the moment we have about 25 thousand refugees registered in three countries…” “The prospect, he adds, is that those numbers will grow unfortunately because the situation is far from being stabilized.” listen