AhumanitarianagencywarnsthatmillionsofpeopleinWestAfricaarefacingafoodcrisis.Oxfamiscallingondonorstotakeimmediateaction.Oxfam'sregionalhumanitariancoordinator,NahuelArenas,saysthere'snotimetowaste."WearetalkingaboutJanuary/February.Sothisiswhyweneedtorespondnow,"hesaid.PeopleinMauritania,Niger,BurkinaFaso,MaliandChadaresaidtobeparticularlyatrisk.ArenassaidtheSahelregionoftenexperiencescyclesofdroughtandfloods,causingfoodinsecurity.Andwhilethatdidn'thappenthisyear,theregiondidfaceacombinationofproblems."Wehadaverybadrainseason,onwhichmostoftheruralpopulationdependsintheSahelregion.Wehadveryfewrainsverybadlyspreadovertheterritory.Andatthesametimewehadanincreaseinpricesinthemarkets.Sowhathappensisthatthelocalpopulationsarefacingthedoublechallengeoflowproductionandincreasingprices.Solessaccesstothemarkets,"hesaid.CashandfoodOxfamreportedcerealproductionfellthisyearanddescribesnationalfoodreservesasdangerouslylow.That'scausedthejumpinprices.Foodisavailableatsomemarkets,butpeoplesimplycan'taffordtobuyit.Arenassaidwhenthathappensgivingmoneyisbetterthanfoodaid."Sointhesecaseswepromotetheuseofcashtransfers.Soononesidewehelphouseholdstoaccesstheirfoodrequirementsandatthesametimewesupportmarketsandthelocaleconomy,"hesaid.Oxfamsaidregionalgovernmentshavealreadyrecognizedtheproblem.It'scallingonthemtoprovidecashtransfersandfeedforlivestock,whilepreparingtodistributeemergencyfoodaid.Buttheagency'sregionalhumanitariancoordinatorsaidinternationaldonorsneedtoactnow,aswell."Ourmessagewouldbethattheinternationalcommunitycanstillavoidtheworstifweacttogethernow.Weknowfrompastcrisesthatactingtoolatecostsfarmoreinlostlivesandlivelihoodsandit'smoreexpensive,"saidArenas.Oxfamisconcentratingonfoodsecurity,waterandsanitationandadvocacytohelpdealwiththesituation.
