World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Overview

Mauritania, located in the arid Sahel region of West Africa, is one of the world’s least developed countries. The population numbers 3 million, and the country is ranked 137 out of 177 in the 2008 UNDP Human Development Index. The southern strip of the land is part of the Sahel, where farmers and agropastoralists are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate variation, drought, and small-scale crises. In an area where the annual five to six month “lean season” always brings hunger and where rainfall is unpredictable, this has strained the resources of the rural poor. To compound these concurrent crises, a food crisis hit Mauritania in 2008, when food prices skyrocketed, surpassing the purchasing power of the majority of the population and leading to a sharp increase in food insecurity levels.