| Background
and rationale
The food security crisis that affected a number of Sahel
countries in 2004-2005 highlighted once again the high level
of vulnerability of the region's populations, which stems
from a combination of contingent and structural factors.
The recurrence of such crises – after decades of development
work and in spite of the existence of sophisticated early
warning and crisis management mechanisms – calls into
question the effectiveness of these mechanisms, and more
widely of the development models that have been applied
in the countries of the region. It illustrates the obvious
regional dimension of the factors underlying food crises
in the Sahel, both as regards their causes and impacts,
and as regards the solutions to them. It also underscores
the existence of a damaging disconnect between long-term
development perspectives and the humanitarian imperative.
Objectives
The overall objective of this consultative process is to
contribute to minimizing future food security crises, in
the context of sustainable reduction of poverty in the region.
The specific objectives are:
• take stock of past and current
responses to food security crises in the Sahel region, identifying
lessons learned and good practices;
• evaluate the underlying context of extreme poverty
and widespread chronic hunger within which these crises
occur, and the implications of this for longer-term programmatic
interventions;
• broaden the dialogue among all relevant stakeholders
– Governments of the Sahel countries, civil society
organizations, national and international NGOs, regional
organizations, international development and humanitarian
agencies, international financial institutions, key donors
– on food vulnerability and human security in the
region;
• begin to identify elements for inclusion in a coherent
regional intervention strategy for permanent prevention
of food crises in the Sahel.
In particular, this process aims
to provide a platform for the establishment of strategic
and programmatic linkages between humanitarian and development
actors, at both the national, regional and the international
level, with regard to food security and its implications
for human security. The establishment of such linkages will
help ensure greater complementarity between humanitarian
action and development processes. The development of a regional
intervention framework is an appropriate means for achieving
this goal both for economic reasons (economies of scale
and efficiency) and for political reasons (growing will
on the part of African countries and donors to develop regional
dynamics through the strengthening of Regional Economic
Integration Organisations).
|
