AUSTRIA, November 22 - Federal government provides aid on the ground in crisis-torn West Africa

The Sahel is facing numerous crises. In addition to widespread poverty and the worst drought in decades, people in this region are afflicted by armed conflicts and terrorist violence. This is compounded by global food insecurity fuelled by the Russian war of aggression, which has dramatically worsened the humanitarian situation. By providing a total of 5.5 million euros from the Foreign Ministry’s Relief Fund for Disasters Abroad (AKF), the Austrian government hopes to ease the current suffering in Burkina Faso and Mali. Austria is also helping the UN World Food Programme (WFP) transport and distribute a 125,000-tonne grain donation from Ukraine to particularly crisis-affected regions in Africa as well as the Near and Middle East.

West Africa has faced a wide range of crises for decades. With the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its effects on global food security, the humanitarian situation has become even worse in the affected regions. Millions of people, especially children, are dependent on humanitarian aid. For the Austrian government, supporting the population is absolutely in keeping with our humanitarian tradition of providing aid on the ground. Not only are we providing a total of 5.5 million euros from the Relief Fund for Disasters Abroad, we are also helping the United Nations World Food Programme transport and distribute supplies in the most affected regions. That way we can make a meaningful contribution to easing the suffering of people in these countries,

said Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

At least 4.9 million people in Burkina Faso are dependent on humanitarian aid, including about 2.6 million children. As one of the ten poorest countries in the world, it lacks the most basic goods; people often have no access to food or adequate healthcare. More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced as the security situation in the northern and eastern part of the country has worsened. The security situation in southern Mali is escalating as well. Hundreds of thousands of people in Mali have been internally displaced, and the humanitarian situation is especially serious for children. Nearly half of the 7.5 million people in Mali who depend on humanitarian aid are children.

War, natural disasters, climate change, and the pandemic are all contributing to the worsening worldwide food crisis. The number of people affected by hunger has doubled in the last two years. People are particularly suffering from hunger in East Africa and the Sahel. With today’s resolution, we are providing resources from the Relief Fund for Disasters Abroad in order to send grain to countries affected by the food crisis. The grain was donated by Ukraine to the World Food Programme. Austria’s participation in this extraordinary act of solidarity by Ukraine is in keeping with its humanitarian tradition,

explained Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler. 

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will each receive 1 million of the total 5.5 million euros; 500,000 euros will go to Austrian non-governmental organisations in Burkina Faso. Another 2 million euros will go to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for Mali. To help ease the worldwide food crisis, Ukraine will donate 125,000 tonnes of grain to the WFP. Austria will give the WFP 1 million euros to transport this donation to the African countries most affected by the food crisis: Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan.

The Sahel region is already affected by a tsunami of crises, including unprecedented droughts, the pandemic, and terrorism. Because global food insecurity has been exacerbated by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the humanitarian situation has become even worse. Through aid on the ground, Austria is making a meaningful contribution to fighting the humanitarian crises in Burkina Faso, Mali, and other regions significantly affected by the acute crisis,

 concluded Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.