- EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
West Africa's humanitarian situation remains of deep concern. The region continues to be marked by complex and severe humanitarian crises, often exceeding the populations' coping capacities and deepening their vulnerability. In 2010, the region was found to have the highest rates of under-five mortality in the world. About one-quarter of all global child deaths occur in West Africa. These grave conditions continue to be aggravated by poor nutrition and inadequate treatment of childhood disease.
In terms of food security, over 10 million people were heavily affected by the food crisis in the Sahel, the result of a devastatingly poor 2009/2010 agropastoral season and insufficient rainfall in 2009. Niger was the hardest-hit country with over seven million food-insecure people, requiring the launch of an emergency humanitarian action plan. Considering the situation in Niger, the humanitarian country team decided to undertake its own Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for 2011 to better focus their common planning and highlight the crisis' funding needs.
Natural disasters increased in both frequency and impact in 2010. Droughts have affected more than 10 million people in the Sahel, and floods have affected 1.45 million. Moreover, cholera outbreaks and dengue fever epidemics hit several countries in the region, affecting the lives of thousands of people.
The 2011 West Africa CAP workshop, held in Dakar in September 2010, brought together regional humanitarian partners to look at these challenges. They agreed that the priority axes for humanitarian action in West Africa should focus on (a) ensuring rapid and effective response to humanitarian crises; (b) strengthening populations' resilience to risks to minimise a crisis' impact on a country's development process; and (c) reiterating the importance of complying with fundamental humanitarian principles and gender equality.
To achieve these priority axes, four strategic objectives were identified:
1. reduce excess mortality and morbidity in crisis situations
2. reinforce livelihoods of the most vulnerable people severely affected by slow- or sudden-onset crises
3. ensure humanitarian access and improve protection of vulnerable people
4. strengthen coordination and preparedness of emergencies at national and regional levels
Regional sector response plans developed for the 2011 CAP are linked to these four strategic objectives and take into consideration the scenarios envisioned by humanitarian actors.
The response plans in the 2011 CAP target delivery of aid to an estimated 1,164,440 food-insecure people and more than 950,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition. More than 27.7 million people living in areas prone to floods, drought and epidemics will directly benefit from health and water-sanitation interventions, while protection activities will target an estimated 1,855,727 people.
The financial requirements of the 2011 CAP for West Africa amount to US$ 252 million, which is a decrease of 40% compared to the current revised budget of the 2010 CAP (excluding Niger, which has a separate CAP for 2011).
The portion of the total requirements dedicated to high-priority projects is 67%. The remaining requirements are dedicated to projects rated medium priority.
This year's CAP includes 113 UN and NGO projects for the 15 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo).
