Sahel Food Crisis Update
The Sahel is entering the 2026 lean season amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and food security situation. In Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger alone, an estimated 9.1 million people are projected to face Crisis levels of food insecurity or worse during the June to August 2026 lean season. More broadly, the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis projects that up to 54.8 million people across West Africa and the Sahel could face acute food insecurity during the same period if urgent action is not taken. Conflict and insecurity continue to drive displacement, disrupt markets and agricultural production, and restrict humanitarian access, while millions remain trapped in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. Rising rates of acute malnutrition, recurrent climate shocks, high food and input prices, and the prospect of El Niño conditions in the second half of 2026 further threaten already fragile livelihoods and food systems.
Against this backdrop, FAO and WFP are working to scale up emergency assistance while simultaneously strengthening resilience and protecting livelihoods, recognizing that humanitarian response and longer-term investments must go hand in hand. In light of reductions in lean season assistance, there is an urgent need to help vulnerable households meet immediate food needs while safeguarding their capacity to produce food. This briefing will provide an update on the evolving situation, outline priority needs and highlight where timely response can have the greatest impact
Speakers:
Kinday Ndella Samba, Regional Director, West and Central Africa Regional Office, WFP
Bintia Stephen Tchicaya, Subregional Coordinator for West Africa a.i., FAO
Jonathan Lewis, Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa, UNICEF
We count on your usual engagement and support.