become necessary to declare the sub-region a disaster zone. The ministers set up a permanent Inter-State Committee for Action Against the Drought in the Sahel (CILSS). 1/
26. The need for a concerted attack on
on the problems of the drought-stricken countries was recognized by FAO/WFP, whose Early Warning System had signalled, in September 1972, the development of an
an acute emergency situation. As the crisis. deepened and the Governments concerned, who were making all possible efforts to meet it, stepped up their requirements for food aid, FAO/WFP approved a supply of 57 000 tons of food grains. In January 1973, FAO experts carried out an emergency mission to assess the magnitude of damage to the threatened livestock in three of the stricken countries, while a joint UN/UNDP/FAO mission went to the six affected countries to ascertain the water problems and to formulate the measures required in the fields of hydrology and hydrogeology. After a mission to the region in April 1973 undertaken by a Special Representative of FAO's Director-General, an appeal was issued to twenty donor Governments and a number of non-governmental organizations. FAO's emergency action received a wider focus when the situation was considered by the Economic and Social Council in
in May, after which the Secretary-General nominated FAO focal point to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations system in
emergency relief operation.
Thereupon an Office for the Sahelian Relief Operation (OSRO) was established in Rome, and another special mechanism, the United Nations Sahelian Office (UNSO), was set up in Ouagadougou to ensure, in co-operation with the Governments concerned, that the necessary supplies reached the affected populations in time.
27. Implementation of the emergency relief operation, in which FAO/WFP, UNDP, UNICEF, UNDRO and WHO made substantial inputs, as did, inter alia, the League of Red Cross Societies and many national Red Cross Societies, was hindered by distance from the coast (the needy displaced population in the heart of the Sahelian zone was over one thousand kilometres inland), the searing heat, the dearth of railways and roads and the imminence of the rains, all of which made overland transpor- tation difficult. Necessary arrangements were made to airlift desperately-needed supplies: food, animal feed, medical sup- plies and, last but not least, seeds were supplied to meet the most acute needs of the victims of the drought.
1/ The Committee's title later was changed to the Inter- State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel.
28.
anc mis
Bar IAE
niz
ens
reh
Per
ren
und
pro
Sah
rec
by
are
the
bef
str
rai
to
mou
UNS
mec
reg
Com
enc
197
29.
coa
dan
Gov
15
of
sie
of
rep to
ins
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.