Hundreds of thousands threatened by drought, says World Vision International

Hundreds of thousands of people, especially children and women are threatened by "a record breaking drought" in the Sahel region of West Africa, World Vision International (WVI) has reported. In Mauritania and Senegal, livestock were already dying and crops had been lost, the NGO said. In a news release, WVI reported that Mauritania was the worst hit. Cattle were dying due to lack of water and pasture while herdsmen were moving remaining stock to the southern border where some feed still existed, leaving part of the population with little or no access to fresh meat and milk. "Even if a short rainy season does occur in Mauritania, the best case scenario is a 40 per cent loss in crop production. If no rains fall, that number could jump to 90 per cent of crops destroyed", WVI said on Wednesday. In Senegal, Mauritania's southern neighbour, areas that usually received 24 inches of rain per year, had received only five inches as at Monday, WV said, adding that government and farmers throughout the country had expressed concern over the "menacing" situation. Last week, a national day of prayer for rain was held. "Even if the rains fall starting now, it will still be catastrophic, agriculturally speaking," Torrey Olsen, WVI National Director in Senegal said. The NGO, he added, was formulating emergency response plans to the drought. Sources at the World Food Programme regional offices in Dakar, Senegal, last week told IRIN that other Sahelian countries including Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, had also received poor rainfall. The UN agency has dispatched a team of experts to assess the situation and formulate a response strategy.