Food crisis in the Sahel will intensify this year

Significance The lean season in the Sahel region runs from May to August and is typically the period of greatest food insecurity in an endemically food-insecure area. This year, amid persistent conflict in parts of the Sahel, erratic rains and the global fallout of the war in Ukraine, the UN estimates 18 million Sahelians will be affected by food insecurity. Impacts Drought and food insecurity will push pastoralists further south into agricultural zones, compounding existing farmer-herder tensions. The humanitarian crisis highlights Mali’s continued dependency on the UN and Western governments despite serious political tensions. Burkina Faso faces a particularly explosive combination of displacement (1.85 million displacement as of March 31) and food insecurity.