Christian Aid needs more funds to help us deliver emergency assistance in the Sahel region of west Africa, where over 19 million people are in the midst of a severe food crisis.
Since we returned to supporters in mid August with a call for further support, the response has been enormously generous and we have received more than £525,000 in donations.
This is helping us continue to support more than 214,000 people. But the situation remains severe for people across the region. Due to poor rains for several seasons, there is an overall cereal deficit across the Sahel.
The rains have now arrived but intense rainfall has brought fresh misery to many, with flooding in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
More than a million children across the region remain at risk of severe acute malnutrition and an estimated three million are at risk of moderate acute malnutrition.
Ongoing insecurity
In Mali and neighbouring countries, the situation has also been exacerbated by political instability and conflict.
In March, junior officers from the Malian army launched a coup and took control of the country. Tuareg rebels and Islamist fighters took advantage of the confusion to seize large parts of the north of the country.
Since then, more than 174,000 people have been displaced within Mali's borders and more than 250,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, most of them moving to areas where food and pasture were already in short supply.
The UN is currently deliberating on plans for an international intervention in which an African-led force would help the Malian army try to regain control of the north. But there are concerns that an escalation in conflict could, in the short term, exacerbate the food crisis by driving many more people from their homes.
Our response
We are bringing help to communities in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, some of the worst affected countries. Our immediate response involved sending funds to finance an urgent early intervention programme in those countries where we have long-term partners.
And our resilience programmes will enable farmers to grow enough food for their families, despite the increasingly difficult weather conditions.
This film, about an UKAid-funded project in Burkina Faso, reflects our long-term work with drought-threatened communities in the region.
Our other activities include:
Supplying improved seeds to communities in Burkina Faso to help them grow food despite the drought.
Distributing rice and cereal for displaced families in Mali. Despite the conflict we are working successfully in communities badly hit by the shortages.
Providing food and nutrition training to pregnant women and mothers of malnourished children in northern Niger, allowing them to have two meals a day for one month.
Christian Aid is also now responding to the flooding, providing food, blankets and hygiene kits for those left homeless.
And we are working with fellow NGOs in the Sahel Working Group (SWG), lobbying international bodies to release sufficient funds to tackle the crisis.
