Ms Assalama Sidi:

I thank the Chairman. It is a real honour and opportunity for Oxfam to be before such an audience and to speak about west Africa and the food crisis that is happening right now.

In west Africa, 27 million people were suffering from hunger already in April. The likelihood of this number growing to 38 million is high if nothing is done. While we are seeing support here and there, we are afraid that target will be met and I will develop on that point.

This crisis is actually an historic high in terms of increase. It is an increase of 40% from June to August 2021 - that is a year. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of people in need of emergency food assistance nearly quadrupled from 7 million to 27 million. Right now, 6.3 million children under five are acutely malnourished. That is an increase of 28% from last year.

In west Africa, especially in countries where we are observing conflicts of differing natures, communities are abandoning their agricultural land. This is not only due to conflicts but also due to droughts and flooding. Of course, climate change is behind the droughts and the recurring flooding that we are seeing in west Africa. As the committee members all will be aware, west Africa is not part of the world which is polluting but it is being crucially hit by climate change effects from pollution.

Some 61 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in west Africa in 2022. Unfortunately, in the case of any type of humanitarian crisis, girls and women suffer the most. We witness all types of gender violence. In the Sahel, as food becomes scarce and conflict persists, more girls are forced into early marriage and, of course, are victims of all types of violence, including sexual abuse.

It is important to share some of the underlying root causes of this crisis and the structural factors of the food crisis. Earlier I mentioned climate change. Climate change is threatening already fragile livelihoods and will continue to negatively impact the food system. All west African countries are countries with a high level of vulnerability to climate change but, of course, unfortunately, a low level of readiness. Under a business-as-usual scenario worldwide, climate change is projected to be higher in west Africa than the global mean with a rise in average temperatures of 3°C to 6°C by 2101. The Sahel is the most likely to experience the largest changes with an increase of extreme weather events and the depletion of water.

In addition to climate change, any time we watch media we see the conflicts in the Sahel, in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Protracted conflicts and displacement is a vulnerability multiplier for the food and nutrition crisis in central and Sahel Africa. Violent conflicts continue to limit humanitarian space while increasing the number of displaced persons in the region and the negative impact of conflict dynamics on the protection of civilians and on their access to infrastructure that is critical for their survival and well-being, including humanitarian assistance, cannot be overstated. We, as humanitarian actors, have difficulties accessing those people in need and providing them with the assistance that they require.

Other aggravating factors include cereal production. This year, in Sahel, it has been declining steadily. For instance, in Niger, where I am currently based, the production has decreased by approximately 36% from last year. This, of course, makes food stock run out very fast and the hunger season starting very early. Normally, in this region, the hunger season starts in May or June but this year in October and November we already saw people suffering and leaving because of the food crisis.

Of course, there is also the residual effect of Covid-19. While west Africa did not suffer from this pandemic as the other parts of the world, it is important to remember that with a global world, any difficulties in trade in one part of the continent could affect all the others. West Africa has been suffering from the residual crisis of Covid-19 because of the high importation of goods from countries, such as China and European countries.

Another important factor is the crisis in Ukraine. The crisis in Ukraine is likely to make the situation dangerously worse. We are seeing commodity prices increasing already and the trend is worrying for us. The price may cause a decrease in wheat availability for six countries. Six of the west African countries rely on Ukraine and Russia for wheat importation. They import 30% to 50% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine. One of the most concerning aspects is that many donors have already indicated that they may cut funding to Africa to finance the reception of refugees in Europe. We have seen cases of countries in Europe which have taken such a grave commitment.

The asks would not be different from what my Dóchas colleague says. Donors are slow to disburse the urgently needed funds for a timely response. More than two months after the EU high-level conference to address the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel, the average funding for the UN humanitarian response plan is below 20%. For instance, for countries such as Burkina Faso, it is 15%. For Chad, it is 16%. For Mali, it is 11%. Oxfam urgently needs €35.6 million to support 1.1 million during the three months of the rainy season in west Africa. Without timely long-term assistance, the vulnerable population will be forced to take negative action that especially affects girls, such as early marriage and dropping out of school, and, of course, impoverishing families. Donors need to ensure their response to the Ukrainian conflict is funded by additional funds that do not jeopardise funding for other, less visible crises such as the one happening in west Africa. Other countries, such as Norway, have already committed to do this. Of course, we must continue to address the growing humanitarian needs while investing in the root causes of the inequality, poverty and poor governance. I will stop here.

I thank the committee for this opportunity. It is a great honour to speak about west Africa because for weeks and months, west Africa was not really on the radar.