The Sahel and Lake Chad Basin: a history of recurrent crises

The Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions have a history of recurrent, protracted crises. Trends show that over time, these crises have increased in cost, scope and duration, driven both by natural hazards and conflict. Appeals for Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania were launched in 2012, while appeals for Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal were launched in 2014. At the time of writing, all continued to be active. In 2017, humanitarian funding requirements peaked at $3.5 billion, equivalent to 15 per cent of global appeal requirements. The region has struggled to receive adequate levels of humanitarian funding: the amount of funding received stagnated between 2012 and 2016, despite an increase in the regions’ overall funding needs. Since 2014, the funding gap for the regions has been above the global average by an average of 20 per cent—meaning that millions of people do not have access to life-saving assistance. While the amount of funding received per person increased from $60 in 2012 to $86 in 2017, this has not kept pace with needs; the funding gap per person increased from 37 per cent to 65 per cent in the same period. The majority of funding has gone towards food security and nutrition.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Zero Hunger

Quality Education

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions