Canadians take action against the Sahel food crisis

Canada’s federal government will now match each dollar donated by Canadians to aid the food crisis that is currently threatening lives in West Africa’s Sahel region. They hope to donate a kickstart amount of $10 million to the Sahel Crisis Matching Fund.

All donations will be matched by September 30.

Funds will then be sent out by the Canadian International Development Agency. Areas that will be aided include Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Sengal, Gambia and northern Cameroon.

CIDA’s minister, Julian Fantino believes that Canadians have always shown that they are willing to help those in need and therefore believes we can reach our goal.

According to CBC, $47.5 million has already been given to World Vision Canada, the World Food Programme, and the Humanitarian Coalition, which includes Oxfam, Oxfam Quebec Care Canada, Plan Canada and Save the Children.

These groups believe that the federal governments new fund will be able to raise awareness about the crisis that is currently affecting roughly 18 million men, women and children suffering from hunger and severe malnutrition.

Robert Fox, Oxfam Canada’s executive director, believes that these funds will help ensure not only immediate life-saving assistance but also crucial investments in farming and herding. This will allow people to prosper even after our assistance

Fox believes that with Canadians’ generous donations and the government match, we can do our part to break the cycle of hunger in Sahel. 

The current crisis in Sahel is said to be caused by a combination of erratic rains, poor harvests and drought.