Disturbingly many children will suffer from severe hunger in the Central Sahel by mid-2023 fueling the already critical education crisis

More children will face severe hunger in the next six months as the food crisis in the Central Sahel continues. The number of hungry people in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso is projected to reach more than 7.5 million to be in the IPC crisis level 3 or worse during the June-August 2023 lean season. That is a significant rise from the level of 5.3 million people between October to December 2022. Though not as severe as the critical lean season last summer where 9.7 million people were in IPC level 3 or worse, the number is still very high. This is documented in a new joint survey by Save the Children and other agencies in the region.\

Entering another dire lean season in 2023 with severe hunger is extremely worrying. Especially for children, who make up about half of the population in the three countries. Children are more vulnerable and suffer more from hunger than adults because it is more difficult for them to adapt to the challenging circumstances. Lack of food and nutrients during the developmental stage of life can lead to lifelong setbacks.\

“Without urgent action in the coming months, we expect to see a growing number of families resorting to increasingly desperate measures to survive, such as selling off the small number of *assets they own to afford food and reducing or skipping meals. The time to act is now. Children’s lives depend on it,” *says Abdou Malam Dodo, Regional Food, Security and Livelihood Advisor for Save the Children in West and Central Africa.\

No education no future

Many factors are causing the food crisis, including conflict, poverty and climate change in the form of droughts, floods and extreme weather. The humanitarian crisis in the Central Sahel also has a wide range of derived consequences for children — one of the most severe is the widespread level of school closures with almost 9,000 schools shut down in the three countries leaving 1,66 million children directly impacted — most of them without any access to education.

Access to school is not only essential for children’s wellbeing and ability to thrive here and now. It’s also a prerequisite for children to acquire the knowledge and skills that are central for building a life of opportunities.

Save the Children is heavily committed to ensuring children’s access to school and psychosocial support, so their wellbeing and future is not jeopardized despite the difficult conditions many children face in the Central Sahel.

And with generous funding from the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) we are able to help 200,000 children in the Central Sahel with quality education and mental support which essential to their recovery, well-being and development.

However more help and support are needed to combat the multifaceted crisis unfolding in the Central Sahel. The great progress that humanitarian aid and investments have contributed to in the region in recent decades must not be lost due to the current food crisis.

Save the Children is calling on world leaders, donors, members of the UN, and non-governmental organisations to prioritising funding in the region for the necessary services to protect children and to ensure their resilience and access to quality education which is crucial to their future.