Malnutrition in the Sahel

The annual hunger season looks like it will be particularly serious in the West African Sahel region this year. Some areas could face nutritional crises in the coming months. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is expanding its response to this seasonal peak in malnutrition, while also developing new long-term approaches to the problem.

UNICEF estimates that up to 15 million people in six countries are facing food insecurity. In a region where global acute malnutrition rates — a standard measurement of malnutrition among children — regularly approach 10 percent, a full-blown nutritional crisis can easily arise.