A large-scale, drought-induced

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

occurred in Africa's

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

region and many parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area from February to August 2010. It is one of many famines to have hit the region in recent times. The

is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the

Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

in the north of Africa and the Sudanian savannas in the south, covering an area of 3,053,200 square kilometres. It is a transitional

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of semi-arid grasslands,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropical gr ...

, and thorn shrublands. The neighbouring Sénégal River Area contains various vegetation types and covers parts or all of

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. It has also had very low rainfall over the last year according to the UN, NGOs and the Senegal River Basin Development Authority.ACT Alert: Food Insecurity in Mauritania due to Drought situation in the Sahel region
Reuters AlertNet
AlertNet Sudan set a new temperature record of 49.7 °C (121.3 °F) on 22 June, in the town of

Dongola Dongola (), also known as Urdu or New Dongola, is the capital of Northern State in Sudan, on the banks of the Nile. It should not be confused with Old Dongola, a now deserted medieval city located 80 km upstream on the opposite bank. Et ...

Overview

Famine and food shortages were present in the following Sahelian countries during 2010 after heavy rains hit the region in late 2009, followed by a

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

:"Strong risk" of 2010 famine in Africa's Sahel – EU
Reuters AlertNet

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, northern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, northern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, as well as in parts of the neighbouring Sénégal River Area.Mauritania heat wave kills 7
Magharebia In December 2009, both

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

and several NGOs predicted an increased food insecurity situation in more of the southern

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of Mali as compared to the same time the previous year.

Possible causes

Environmental problems

The Western donor nations once theorised that the drought in the

primarily was caused by humans over-using

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

in the region through

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

and poor

land management Land management is the process of managing the land use, use and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for example agriculture, forestry, water resource management, Human settlement, human settlements an ...

. In the late 1990s, climate model studies suggested that large-scale climate changes were also triggers for the drought. In the early 2000s, after the phenomenon of

global dimming Global dimming is a decline in the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. It is caused by atmospheric particulate matter, predominantly sulfate aerosols, which are components of air pollution. Global dimming was observed soon after t ...

was discovered, some speculatively suggested, that the drought was likely caused by air pollution generated in

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and North America. The pollution changed the properties of clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, disturbing the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

s and shifting the tropical rains southwards.

Global dimming Global dimming is a decline in the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. It is caused by atmospheric particulate matter, predominantly sulfate aerosols, which are components of air pollution. Global dimming was observed soon after t ...

, the blocking of sunlight by man-made

particulate Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes define ...

s, has been identified as one culprit for a decades-long drought across

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. A 2006 study by

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

scientists Rong Zhang and Thomas L. Delworth suggests that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation/(MAO) plays a leading role. An AMO warm phase strengthens the summer rainfall over

, while a cold phase reduces it. The AMO entered a warm phase in 1995 and, by assuming the presence of a theoretical 70-year cycle (following peaks in ≈1880 and ≈1950), it would probably peak around about 2020. The Sahel's farmers have been largely cleared of blame for the 19th century's Sahel droughts. The Sahel region's rains in the 1930s and 1940s were caused by the recent warming of the Indian Ocean, rather than by over-farming causing environmental degradation as previously assumed, according to a new joint Scidev/UN study. With both a 3.5 C. rise in the Niger's temperature over the last decade and with

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

land accounting for only 0.1% of the Niger's inhabitable land, regular

crisis is inevitable in most years. Acute water shortages, which are common in the region's harsh weather, make irrigation systems all the more important for the local farmers.-://climate-change.suite101.com/article.cfm/what-caused-the-niger-famine-in-2010

The Demise of Lake Chad

The Lake Chad basin straddles the borders of both

, Nigeria,

and

. The lake is situated above sea level and is diminishing over time due to lack of rain water and major rivers running into it. According to the UN the marshy lake shrank as much as by 95% from about 1963 to 1998Atlas of Our Changing Environment
/ref> yet they also state that "The 2007 (satellite) image shows significant improvement over previous years". Lake Chad is economically important, providing water to more than 20 million people living in the four countries that surround it (

, Cameroon,

, and

) on the edge of the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. The plant Typha Australis (or the big cattail) is cutting off water supplies in the Lake Chad Basin, and has slashed available water supplies in the Chad's region. The only protected area is Lake Chad Game Reserve, which covers half of the area next to the lake that belongs to Nigeria. The whole lake has been declared a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

that is increasingly claiming a huge swath not just of the Sahel region but also the entire African continent. According to a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

environment program, in 2002, this phenomenon, which is a process where the soil loses the capacity to retain necessary moisture, has covered nearly half of Africa. It was revealed that the Sahel region is one of the areas that are worst affected. The problem is also highlighted by the discovery of fossil pollens indicating that, in ancient times, the shores of Lake Chad supported a well-watered

, which contributed to a lesser level of

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

ity in the Sahel area. It was found that around 3,000 B.C., the Sahel averaged 650 millimetres of rainfall a year compared to an average of 350 millimetres recorded today. Given the issue of desertification, even if Lake Chad was not directly a cause of the famine, its potential demise is expected to further aggravate the problem. There are studies that show that the incidence of famine is reportedly related to the delicate seasonal variations in the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

(ITCZ). The shrinking of Lake Chad is blamed on the long droughts as well as the uptick in human activities such as the use of the lake's water for irrigation, the destruction of wooded areas for firewood, and the shift from the cultivation of corn and wheat to rice as the staple crop.

The Ubangi River diversion proposal

In the 1960s, a plan was proposed to divert the

Ubangi River The Ubangi River (; ; ; ), also spelled Oubangui, is a river in Central Africa, and the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou River, Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mea ...

into

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

. The copious amount of water from the Ubangi would revitalise the dying Lake Chad and provide livelihood in fishing and enhanced agriculture to tens of millions of central Africans and

ians. Inter-basin water transfer schemes were proposed in the 1980s and 1990s by

n engineer J. Umolu (ZCN Scheme) and Italian firm Bonifica (Transaqua Scheme). In 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) proposed a similar project and at a March 2008 Summit, the Heads of State of the LCBC member countries committed to the diversion project. In April 2008, the LCBC advertised a request for proposals for a World Bank-funded feasibility study.

The possible effects of cash crops

Cotton and groundnuts are two of Chad's four major

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

s. Mali's major cash crops are peanuts and cotton.

's cotton production has grown from 500,000 tonnes in 1997 to a record 635,000 tonnes in 2003, which has pleased the African Association of Cotton Producers, but has also led to a claim that cash crops are being put before food and fodder crops in

, Burkina Faso and

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

production has fallen slightly in

since 2007, relative to cotton output. Their cash crops are cotton, groundnuts, shea nuts, and

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

. The Sahel's farmers are largely cleared of blame for the 20th century's Sahel droughts and this is supported by the position that several of the cash crops in the Sahel region have desirable ecological effects such as the tree crops and the

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

s, which help prevent the process of desertification. However, there is the enduring question of whether cash crops like cotton are more important than food plants like wheat and casava. This issue persists as studies cite that the famine is linked to the direct entitlement failure that affected people's access to food.

Over-population

Many of the world's countries, including many in Sub-saharan Africa, the Middle East and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, have seen a sharp rise in population since the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The fear is that high population numbers are putting further strain on natural resources, food supplies, fuel supplies, employment, housing, etc.; in some of the less fortunate countries. The population of

has, for example, ultimately grown from 6,279,921 in 1993 to 10,329,208 in 2009, further straining its resources.

is witnessing a similar growth in population, strained resources and a possible over-population problem in the near future. The situation was most acute in northern, western and central Africa. Refugees from places like the

have helped further strain the resources of neighbouring states like the Chad and Egypt. The nation is also host to roughly 255,000

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from Sudan's

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

region, and about 77,000 refugees from the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

, whilst approximately 188,000 Chadians have been displaced by their own civil war and famines, have either fled to either the Sudan, the Niger or, more recently,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Aid workers being driven off by kidnappers

On 25 August a French aid worker was kidnapped in Chad. The kidnapping of foreigners along the Chad/Darfur border became more frequent in 2009. A French NGO worker was taken and then murdered on 29 October 2009, and an unidentified Red Cross worker was captured on 10 November 2009. Many NGOs and charities have begun to restrict the areas covered by their aid work in Niger, Chad, and Sudan due to the ever-present risk of

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

s and kidnappers. The organisations are thus pulling out in fear of their workers' lives. Most international aid agencies have been withdrawing workers from some areas of the Sahel, due to the regional kidnapping crisis.

's government spokesman Mahamane Lawali Danda told the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

that the pullout was a surprise to him since no one had told him or his government that Niger was on the list of dangerous 'kidnapper infested' pariah nations, along with

and

. Strangely,

and

were not on the list of dangerous nations, despite several

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

lead kidnappings in both during 2009.

List of events

January

11 January saw an emerging famine situation in south eastern

according to the UN, NGOs, the EU and various Charities. The government of

says 7,800,000 risk starvation in 2010 as heavy drought and high heat hit Niger,

, Mali,

and northern

on both 27 and 28 January and was estimated to need about $220,000,000 million this year in food and agricultural aid. The EU's ECHO aid department said of signs of food shortages were in Niger and spreading to neighbours such as

, Mali,

and northern

as 15,000,000 are estimated to face a chronic food shortage in Niger. The EU and UN also put out a famine alert for Niger,

, Mali,

and northern

and began to appeal for aid on the 28th. The EU, China and Russia stopped giving Niger aid in 2009 after President

Mamadou Tandja Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was List of heads of state of Niger, President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 ...

defied UN, EU and worldwide criticism over extending his term in office.

February

The UN, NGOs and charities warned of heavy

food insecurity Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, househo ...

in Southern Sudan throughout February due to an emerging famine and the ongoing conflict between

Misseriya The Messiria (), also known as Misseriya Arabs, are a branch of the Baggara ethnic grouping of Arab tribes.Adam, Biraima M. (2012)''Baggara of Sudan: Culture and Environment'' Amazon online Books. Their language is primarily Sudanese Arabic, wh ...

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

in the Southern Kordofan department. The rainfall was reported at an all-time low in

and neighbouring parts of

during most of February and early March. The EU warns of a pending Sahel famine centered upon Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad on 1 February.

March

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

said that

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

should stop targeting African civilians and aid workers on 16 March. A drought was confirmed to have hit parts of

on 10 March, by

and the UN. On 13 March 2010 the UN, NGOs, the EU and various charities put out a famine alert for parts of southern

. On 15 March 2010 Britain's

Save The Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

charity launched an appeal as 840,000 Nigerians are confirmed to be in imminent risk of a famine. On 17 March 2010, a famine was declared in Mao in Chad's sand-swept

Kanem region Kanem () is one of the regions of Chad, 23 regions of Chad. It is named after the famous Kanem Empire, which was centred in this vicinity. The region's capital city, capital is Mao, Chad, Mao. It was created in 2002 from the former prefectures ...

. On 23 March 2010, major sandstorms hit Mauritania, Senegal, the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, Guinea Bissau, Guinea and inland

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. Another hit southern

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, inland

, Mali and northern

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

at the same time.

April

During April and June, Islamic Relief (IR) sent aid workers to the North Kordofan to help improve their 16-year-old Um Dam and North Kordofan Water Project (NKWP). The UN, NGOs, charities and the Sudanese government reported that food security was a major concern in South Sudan and would stay at risk until the rainy season in September. By 8 April 2010,

starving Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...

children and elders filled the wards of a hospital in Akobo, Sudan. Several aid groups like

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

and Medair found out that 46% of children in the region were malnourished. The U.N. blamed two years of failed rainfall and the ongoing

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

clashes in the region for helping to create the

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...

in southern Sudan. The

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

(WFP) was feeding 80,000 (up from 20,000 since April 2009) and the U.N. says 4,300,000 people in southern Sudan need food aid. On 23 April 2010, said

ien

Culture Minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

Aminata Takoubakoyea, there was a reported food supply deficit of 119,700 tonnes and a fodder supply deficit of 16,000,000 tonnes. Niger's leading musicians and singers held a charity concert in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

to assist.

May

On 1 May 2010, the West African nation of Chad was on the verge of a nationwide famine as drought, armed conflict, and an influx of

refugees all contributed to a chronic food shortage that now affects 2,000,000 people (20% of the country's total population). Various aid groups, NGOs and charities said a catastrophic famine could hit the country in the near future if food relief does not arrive soon. The UN warned that a famine had hit the town of Mao in Chad's Kanem region. The city of

, Niger took in refugees from Tillabéri department 12 days before, after they turned up hoping the city would help them. By 3 May 2010, the towns of Kongomé,

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 235,605 as by the 2012 census. It is situated east of the capital Niamey and north of the Nigerian city of Kano. History ...

, Tanout and Dalli were the worst hit by the drought.

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

gives a short term cash loan to both the

and

. NGOs and Charities report famine conditions Kindal region on the 5th. On 12 and 26 May 2010, both

, the Sénégal River Area and neighbouring parts of both

and

faced both drought and famine. On 14 May 2010,

issued a food shortage alert for the

Kordofan Kordofan ( ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory divided between N ...

states. Seven died of dehydration in Ghaidi Magha, Mauritania, near the

an border on 18 May 2010. Afrol News reported on 25 May that about 2,000,000 Chadians were at risk of having a famine occur in their regions after the combined effects of 2 years of drought and pestilence had ruined their harvest yet again. On 27 and 28 May 2010, Mali and Niger faced a famine situation in their northern territories. The

Kidal Kidal ( Tuareg Berber: ⴾⴸⵍ, KDL, Kidal) is a town and commune in the desert region of northern Mali. The town lies northeast of Gao and is the capital of the Kidal Cercle and the Kidal Region. The commune has an area of about and incl ...

, Timboktu and

Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

had their crops and livestock die off. Gao's historic nomad market had virtually no food stuffs or animal fodder in it. 31 May saw

embroiled in a fiscal controversy. A 12-metre statue of a horseman, the Rond-point de la Grande Armée, in the capital

N'djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

, cost over $3,000,000. Both local critics, NGOs and overseas

donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as re ...

nations all wondered where the money had come from and thought it would have been better spent on buying food and irrigation equipment.

June

NGOs, various charities and the UN warned of heavy food shortages and

in Sudan's

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

Kassala Kassala (, ) is the capital of the state of Kassala (state), Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2003 its population was recorded to be 530,950. Built on the banks of the Mareb River, Gash River, it is a market city and is famous for its fruit gardens. ...

, Janub Darfur,

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ') is one of the 18 States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 2,107,623 people (2018 est). Kaduqli is the capital of the state. It is centered on t ...

and North Kordofan departments.

Dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...

was reported to have killed one person in Niger, while others in the region were at risk of water shortages on 1 June. Severe drought caused to 10,000,000 to go seriously short on as the Eastern Sahel crisis increases and local food prices surge on 3 June. Niger has 7,100,00 victims, Chad has 2,000,000 victims and other country have 900,000 victims in total.

, Chad, the eastern parts of

and northern

have also been badly affected by the failed rains and scorching heat, according to the UN

. The WFP, which plans to assist 3,600,000 people in the coming months and said the crisis is expected to last at least until the next harvest in September 2010. The British charity

, launched an emergency appeal for Niger. Starving families were reported as either have travelled more than to reach the capital Niamey to find work and/or beg for food, while others have crossed the border in

. A Similar situation is occurring in Chad as, desperate Chadians fled into southern

and

were in a server food insecure situation too. On 6 June 2010, growing famine in the

drove thousand of

s into the

n provinces of Kano and Katsina states. About 7,000,000 were facing a food shortage crisis in Niger. On 7 June the Malian Government's Early Warning System released an estimate that 258,000 people were suffering from

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

in the towns of

and

in April. Low and erratic rainfall in 2009 had occurred in

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

, and

, leading to a heavy regional drought. Hundreds of refugees moved to

from

and

, but were now too weak with starvation to leave

. The UN and Mali's government asked the

developed nations A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evalu ...

for food aid and financial help in the face of the growing humanitarian crisis. The amount taken in Nigeria's harvest was down by 65,000 tonnes, whilst Niger had virtually nothing to take from their

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

. On 8 June 2010, France food aid to and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

pledged an additional $28,000,000 million to help the millions of victims in the

, the

, Burkina Faso, and northern

. The charity

sent a team to Aguie in Niger, 850 km north east from the capitol

, to set up an aid centre on the 8th and reported back on the 9th than 350,000 children faced severe malnutrition. On 9 June, various groups of hydrologists, geologists and scientists in the Sahara desert used magnetic imaging technology when looking for

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

sites for drilling

water wells A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

in Eastern

. Both northern

, southern

, eastern Chad were being examined in part of an ongoing project to find viable drilling as the region's nations try to find new water sources to keep up with their growing demand. In recent years, roughly 300,000 refugees have arrived from both the war-torn Sudan and ailing

, thus straining the already limited water supplies. Both

, Burkina Faso,

, Morocco,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, Niger have shown a major interest in the further development of this resource lead local industry. On 11 June 2010, the UN's World Food Organisation, Oxfam and MSF all warned of an impending famine in

, Mauritania,

, Niger and northern

. Niger's

Diffa Region Diffa is one of the seven regions of Niger, and is located in the southeast of the country. The capital of the region is Diffa. Geography Diffa Region is situated in the extreme southeast of Niger between 10° 30’ and 15° 35’ longitude E ...

was of the most concern to the experts at hand. By 13 June 2010, roughly 30% of crops failed in some of Niger's provinces. A new heat wave hit Niger on 21 June, causing an increased area of drought in that country as well. Niger's crops failed and

occurred. About 350,000 faced starvation and 1,200,000 were at risk of

according to the Niger's government, while the UN said roughly 2,000,000 Chadians, 7,000,0000 Nigerians and 1,000,000 other people of the

region faced starvation and 200,000 Nigerian children were malnourished. In over-heated Chad, the temperature reached 47.6 °C (117.7 °F) on 22 June in

Faya-Largeau Faya-Largeau (also known as Faya, or ) is the largest city in northern Chad and was the capital of the region of Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti. It is now in the Borkou Region, which was formed in 2008 from the Borkou Department of the former Bourkou-En ...

, breaking a record set in 1961 at the same location. Niger tied its highest temperature record set in 1998, on also 22 June, at 47.1 °C in Bilma. That record was broken the next day, on 23 June when Bilma hit 48.2 °C (118.8 °F). The hottest temperature recorded in Sudan was reached on 22 June, at 49.7 °C (121.3 °F) in

, breaking a record set in 1987. Sudan's record temperature was matched on the 23rd too. On 23 June the UN, WFP and various humanitarian agencies requested $190,700,000 million to enable them respond to the unfolding famine in Niger. The UN estimates that just under 50% of country's 7,100,000 people risked starving to death. On 24 June the government of

admitted that it was suffering from a major

and said aid workers and NGOs were now welcome. The government of the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

had reported to various NGOs that it was struggling to control

and imminent drought conditions in parts of its northern

lands.

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

launch a £7,000,000 emergency appeal to try to help more than 800,000 of the most vulnerable people in Chad, Niger and Mali. 26 June saw 1,600,000 Chadians facing

in the Bahr el Gazel Region, Batha Region, Guera Region, Hadjer-Lamis Region,

Lac Region Lac () is one of the 23 provinces of Chad. Its capital is Bol, Chad, Bol. It is chiefly composed of the former Lac Prefecture, Lac Prefectures of Chad, Prefecture. The province includes Chad's portion of the shore of Lake Chad. Geography The pr ...

and the

Kanem Region Kanem () is one of the regions of Chad, 23 regions of Chad. It is named after the famous Kanem Empire, which was centred in this vicinity. The region's capital city, capital is Mao, Chad, Mao. It was created in 2002 from the former prefectures ...

. About 604,000 people were benefiting from its assistance as a total 60% of families became victims of the famine in varying degrees according to the UN's

(WFP). Chad appealed to donors for increased contribution to the international famine relief operation in

that received US$42,100,000 of a pledged total of US$65,000,000, to enable it continue all its relief work and charitable activities until the end of the year 2010. Cameroon also suffered from heavy desertification in the savanna regions of South Region, Centre Region, West Region, Northwest Region and Far North Region.

July

July saw sporadic and small-scale food riots in

, Janub Darfur,

and North Kordofan departments. The Muslim Hands charity set up an appeal and sent aid to

and

in July. It was the worst Niger

since 1984, with 3,500,000 people starving. On 6 July, the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) aid experts said that more than 1,500,000 Nigerians were at risk of famine due to a month-long heat wave that was hovering over Niger, Mali,

and

. A fund of about £20,000 was distributed to the crisis-hit countries of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The

that left Morocco for the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

on 11 July was attributed to the regional hot air currents that depart from the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

desert in Northern Africa at about 1,000 meters in altitude. This facilitated a movement in the hot air towards the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

via the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

, Spain and Italy. Unusually hot weather was also reported in parts of

on 11 July. On 12 July 2010, a local goat farmer was killed and his small flock stolen by Chadian refugees in the

South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...

region of the

. The UN's WFP body estimated that 2,500,000 were at risk of a famine breaking out in their part of Niger. On 13 July, the

funded

Famine Early Warning Systems Network FEWS NET, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, is a website of information and analysis on food insecurity created in 1985 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the US Department of State, after famines in Eas ...

(FEWS NET), and the UN warned of a food supply shortage in northern

, with increasing food insecurity focused on the war torn

region and other neighbouring areas. The deteriorating security situation in the conflict zone was predicted to reduce both productivity and peoples' access to local agricultural well, as well as disrupting the seasonal livestock migration. USAID/OFDA provided $133,200,000 to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

) to help remedy the crisis in the three Darfur states. Concerns were also raised about the situation in Chad, Three years of famine and then the recent sandstorms devastated Niger on 14 July.

Diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

, starvation,

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...

and

respiratory diseases Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...

kill and sicken many children. The new

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

appealed for international food aid and has taken serious steps to call overseas help since coming to office in February 2010. Sudan witnessed minor

food riot A food riot is a riot in protest of a shortage and/or unequal distribution of food. Historical causes have included rises in food prices, harvest failures, inept food storage, transport problems, food speculation, hoarding, poisoning of food, ...

ing in Southern Kordofan,

, and

Abyei The Abyei Area () is an area of on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agree ...

profiteering Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical. Overview Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency ( especially a war). The term is also applied to ...

locals and merchants and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n exporters took advantage of the shortages in order to heavily mark up their selling prices. 15 July saw more border conflicts between the Nuer and the

Dinka The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...

, further hindering aid workers in Southern Sudan. On 17 July, Mohamed Béavogui, the Director of Western and Central Africa Division of the

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. It is the on ...

(IFAD), called for more international help for the people of the Sahel, who had a 410,000 tons of cereals and 20,000 tons of fodder deficit. He also condemned the world for not doing enough to help the Sahel, but stopped short of Cheminade's idea of pumping water from the

Zaire River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the w ...

into

to reinvigorate its water supply and stop any further shrinkage. On 24 July, the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

flew its logistics teams Bristol Airport to Niger to help the army and local officials with transportation. The relief effort has already been made possible by the response to the Red Cross's West Africa Crisis Appeal, which aims to raise £500,000. According to UN agencies, 200,000 children need treatment for malnutrition in Niger alone, as

put out an £7,000,000 appeal to cover both

and Niger. France sent unspecified food and cash aid to Mali on 25 July. On 26 July the heat reached near-record levels over Chad and Niger, and about 20 had reportedly died in northern Niger of dehydration on 27 July. 27 July also saw a critical situation occurring in northern Mali and Chad. About 8,000,0000 Nigerians, 1,600,000 Chadians and 500,000 Malians were on the verge of a major food shortage as the Nigerian journalist Tidiane Kassé said that by tackling the consequences rather than the causes would be a better form of long-term help for the region. On 31 July, leading economists predicted that food prices, especially wheat, would rise in Chad as Russia ends exports due to a domestic drought destroying their wheat and barley harvests.

August

On 1 August, Gadabeji, Niger suffered 35 °C heat and drought. On 1 August, just under 12,000,000 people in Niger (approximately 80% of the nation's entire population) faced a

food supply Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, househo ...

crisis and possibly even

conditions. The Tillabéri region is 30 km from the capital,

, on the road to the

n town of

. Unusually severe rainfall destroyed and then rotted the farmers' crops. Basic food stuffs like maize,

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

were running out in West Africa's

. Both

and northern

have a similar, but less severe problem. On 3 August,

was hit by a drought, as 4,500,000 Burkinans and 6,700,000 Nigerians faced starvation.

(HRW) said the Sudanese Nuer–

war was hampering relief efforts and damaging agricultural output in parts of South Sudan. 10 August saw an

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

reporter say that 7,500,000 Nigerians were at risk of famine and 15,000,000 could face a famine across the Sahel. An estimated 8,000,000 people faced famine conditions in Niger on 11 August.

and

sent food aid to the Niger. On 12 August, Gianluca Ferrera, deputy director for the UN's

in the Niger, said malnutrition and crop failures were at a record levels in 2010. Food shortages are affecting 12,000,000 people and 400,000 children face

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...

. Food prices rose by about 300% since the crisis began and thus hardly any one can afford to buy the remaining food. 14 August saw protests across Sénégal over concerns relating to the ruling party's poor governance in the face of recent floods, storms and power cuts across the country, along with the current heavy drought in

's Sahel region. 15 August had aid workers and their organisations warn of an imminent nationwide famine in Niger. On 20 August, floods which were the worst for 80 years hit the Shale region. The U.N. warned that Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and northern Nigeria are also in the grip of the worst regional

food crisis A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usuall ...

since 2006. In the

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Kano, Nigeria, over 2,000 families were displaced by floods and in the nearby Jigawa region, an entire village was evacuated due to heavy flooding. In

, a flood damaged bridges and many homes in the mountain town of Aioun. Heavy flooding was occurring around parts of

lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

. Most international aid agencies withdraw workers due to the regional kidnapping crisis.

's government spokesman Mahamane Lawali Danda told the

that the pullout came as a surprise since no one had told his government Niger was on the list of dangerous 'kidnapper infested'

pariah state A pariah state (also called an international pariah or a global pariah) is a nation considered to be an outcast in the international community. A pariah state may face international isolation, sanctions or even an invasion by nations who find i ...

s, along with Chad,

and

. Mauritania and

were not on the list of dangerous nations, despite several

lead kidnappings during 2009. The U.N. warned of mass starvation in Niger and Chad and

said people in the region were surviving on leaves and berries picked in the wild. 8,000,000 were said to be near starvation by both organisation. The UN estimated that up to 7,800,000 Nigeriens were affected by heavy food shortages.

Cafod The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, commonly known as CAFOD, is an international development and relief charity. It is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CAFOD is part of the global Caritas Internat ...

set up a £100,000 aid programme on 21 August. 25 August had a French aid worker kidnapped in Chad. The kidnapping of foreigners along the Chad–Darfur border became more frequent in 2009. A French NGO worker was taken and then murdered on 29 October 2009, and an unidentified Red Cross worker was captured on 10 November 2009. Many NGOs and charities had started to restrict the areas covered by their aid work in Niger, Chad and Sudan, due to the ever-present risk of

s and

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

ers. On 28 August, charities and NGOs put out food shortage alerts for Niger. Heavy rain falls on the border of the

CAR A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

and the Chad. 31 August saw 7,900,000 of Niger's 15,300,000 people in immediate risk of starvation and

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

MP making plans for a $100,000 charity speech on the development of irrigation and water schemes to increase cultivable land the Niger and the Chad. He was quoted to have said in the interview that:

But, today, where there is suffering without hope, we can prevent children dying painful, avoidable deaths

On 31 August Sudan's army reported that 3 Russian helicopter crew members had been abducted by gunmen in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, just hours after

Samaritan's Purse Samaritan's Purse is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelis ...

aid worker Flavia Wagner who had been kidnapped 18 May was set free. She was taken from the

ian village of Abu Ajura, along with two Sudanese colleagues who were also freed after a week. The governor of South Darfur, Abdel Hamid Kasha, Sudan foreign ministry spokesman Moawiya Osman and Samaritan's Purse's leader Franklin Graham, and the Russian ambassador to Chad welcomed Flavia's release, but condemned the

of the three Russians and that of two

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian UNAMID police advisers in Darfur, on the 14th. Another Russian

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

pilot was taken prisoner for four days after landing in

to take rebels' spokesmen to Chad for alleged peace talks.

September

On 1 September, aid agencies and NGOs called for aid to be given to Niger as 7,000,000 faced starvation. 4 September had

Cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreaks kill 41 in Chad and one in Nigeria. 8 September saw a Chinese CGC Overseas Construction Co. Ltd. oil worker kidnapped in Bahaï, Chad and took him to Sharq al-Teyna, in

region. On 13 September the Prem Rawat Foundation gave $30,000 loan to pay for

to buy food aid for children of its nomadic tribal groups. On 14 September heavy rainfall in central and southern Chad raised hopes that the major drought in Africa's Sahel region would be over by early 2011. 10,000,000 were near to starvation in the

. The UN's WFP had estimated that Chad needs about 100,000 metric tonnes of food aid, but had only received 70,000 metric tonnes so far. Most of the Chadian need to sell more cereal crops to make enough money to repay their huge

debts Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

. farmers According to Jean François Caremel of the Action Against Hunger charity branch in Chad. As both Chad and Niger faced an improving situation due to heavy rain fall over these countries, but a major famine was still unfolding in other countries of West Africa's dry Sahelian region 15 September had Sudanese and Chadian forces jointly searching for both the Chinese

oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...

engineer taken on the 8th and a Chinese aid worker who was kidnapped from the same town on the morning of the 15th. Both the Chinese

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Chad, the Chadian government and the Solidarity Action for Peace and Development NGO condemned the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

s. The Chinese hostage was released in the Dafur on the 17th. 18 and 19 September In Hadejia, Nigeria, The flood victims sleep wherever they can, the men search for dry spots on the roads while women and children keep piling into their houses still standing as huge number of displaced people have returned to flood-hit villages in Northern Nigeria. Over two million people were affected by the flood waters and more than 50,000 families are still wandering homeless. Residential areas of the Kararar Rima village was also destroyed in the flood. Most of the houses were made of clay, so they easy dissolved in the flood water.AFP: Flood victims sleep by roadsides in northern Nigeria
/ref> As the rains fell the end of the pending famine looked close.

October

The famine was finally relieved, as floods hit

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, Niger,

and

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

in October 2010.

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

's residents in

had to board canoes, on the 9th due to severe flooding. According to the UN, 680,000 people were homeless while more than 300,000 acres of crops had been destroyed and 81,000 livestock killed. Flooding began in mid-September when heavy rains caused the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

in Benin's north to overflow and break its banks. Rainfall continued across the country. Heavy rains caused the collapse of an already damaged dam in

and displaced more than 700,000 people.

International response

Long term food security plans

Food security schemes

Against a backdrop of conventional interventions through the state or markets, alternative initiatives have been pioneered to address the problem of food security. An example is the " Community Area-Based Development Approach" to agricultural development ("CABDA"), an NGO programme with the objective of providing an alternative approach to increasing food security in Africa. CABDA proceeds through specific areas of intervention such as the introduction of drought-resistant crops and new methods of food production such as agro-forestry. In an analysis of the programme by the

Overseas Development Institute ODI Global (formerly Overseas Development Institute) is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...

, CABDA's focus on individual and community capacity-building is highlighted. This enables farmers to influence and drive their own development through community-run institutions, bringing food security to their household and region.

Aquifer usage

and

were also tapping into the ancient Sub-Saharan aquifer and Bas Saharan Basin as a source of drinking water, as of 2009 and 2008 respectively. On 9 June 2010 various groups of hydrologists, geologists and scientists in the Sahara desert used magnetic imaging techniques when looking for sites in

s for drilling

in Eastern

. Northern

, southern

, eastern Chad were being examined in part of an ongoing project to find viable drilling as the region's nations try to find new water sources to keep up with their growing demand.

, Burkina Faso,

, Morocco,

, Niger have shown a major interest in the further development of this resource lead local industry, which could prove a valuable asset for nomads, local farmers and townsfolk alike in the years to come.

The 'Food Crises Prevention and Management Charter'

The Food Crises Prevention and Management Charter was validated on 11 August 2010, in the drought that hit

. The signatory countries were from the Permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel (CILLS) and West Africa Club (SWAC), and the

, which was also hosting the event. Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia chose to express specific opinions on how to stop any further droughts in the region. The goal of the treaty is to help avert and mitigate the effects of future droughts,

s and food shortages in the member states. The CILSS was created in 1973 during the first of the 'great droughts' of the late 20th century.

Climate and vegetation overview

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahel famine, 2010 2010 in Chad 2010 in Niger 2010 in Mali 2010 in Sudan 2010 in Burkina Faso 2010 in Senegal 2010 meteorology 2010 natural disasters 2010 droughts 2010 disasters in Africa 2010s famines Droughts in Africa Famines in Africa Agriculture in Africa Economy of Niger Agriculture in Niger Famine,2010

Overview

Possible causes

Environmental problems

The Demise of Lake Chad

The Ubangi River diversion proposal

The possible effects of cash crops

Over-population

Aid workers being driven off by kidnappers

List of events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

International response

Long term food security plans

Food security schemes

Aquifer usage

The 'Food Crises Prevention and Management Charter'

Climate and vegetation overview

See also

References