Charities distribute aid as part of early response to food insecurity in Senegal
Humanitarian agencies in Senegal are this week distributing aid as part of an early response to food shortage, which has been caused by the late onset of rainfall last year. This early action will help alleviate the suffering of those affected and reduce the need for them to resort to negative coping actions such as taking children out of schools, eating their seeds, and migrating or selling their farming implements.
African Risk Capacity (ARC) and Start Network members, including Catholic Relief Services, Action Against Hunger, Oxfam, Plan International, World Vision and Save the Children, will be acting alongside the Government of Senegal in advance of the lean season to enable farmers and their families to protect livestock and other valuable assets. More than 200,000 people are set to benefit through cash interventions, and even more people through nutrition and agricultural projects.
World Vision is dedicated to empowering children, their families and communities to reach their full potential through a multi-sectoral programming approach covering the following areas: Health & Nutrition, Education & Life Skills, Child Protection & Participation, Livelihoods & Household Resilience. World Vision covers the Kolda region.
As part of the planned activities, Action Against Hunger will be working in Saint-Louis and Matam; Catholic Relief Services will be working in Diourbel; Oxfam in Louga; Plan International in Thiès; and Save the Children Senegal in Kaffrine.
The projects, totalling US $10.6m, are being funded through a ‘parametric’ insurance policy issued by African Risk Capacity Insurance Limited based on pre-agreed scientific triggers. This is part of the US $23.1m payout made to the Government of Senegal and Start Network last November to provide early support to those affected by drought during the 2019 agricultural season. The payout to Start Network remains the biggest-ever funding allocation to civil society for early humanitarian action. Start Network’s response will complement that of the Government of Senegal, which will receive a payout of US $12.5m.
Aliou Diouf, Start Network’s ARC Replica Manager said: “It is so important that work is starting at this time and that the people of Senegal who are affected or at risk will receive this help before resorting to negative coping strategies. Start Network will work alongside the government to help people who may suffer during the lean season. This is a new way of working, unlike the current model in which people have to wait to receive help after a crisis has taken place, even though today we can predict many crises much earlier.”
UN-ASG Mohamed Beavogui, Director-General of ARC Agency said: “The payout of $23.1m to Senegal and the Start Network by ARC Insurance Ltd continues to be a milestone in our work. It could not have come at a better time. We are glad that the affected population in Senegal are receiving this necessary assistance not only to cope with the drought, but also to adapt to the compounding threats imposed by the economic and social constraints of COVID-19.”
The Start Network, a global network of aid agencies, has developed the programme because it believes that pre-emptive disaster financing could revolutionise the aid sector and catalyse a new way of preparing for crises, helping to create more resilient communities.
The initiative, known as ARC Replica, is run in a partnership between the Start Network, the Government of Senegal, the African Risk Capacity (ARC), and the World Food Programme (WFP); funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). ARC Ltd is also jointly funded by KfW on behalf of BMZ and the UK’s Department for International Development.
For further information contact:
Alexandre Amadou Gassama
Communications Manager
World Vision Senegal
+221 77 483 86 94
Alexandre_amadou_gassama@wvi.org
Helen James
Head of Communications & Digital
Start Network
+44 (0)7887853071
Mr. Chinedu Moghalu
Senior Communication Specialist
African Risk Capacity (ARC)
Mob: +27 (0) 83-308-7068
chinedu.moghalu@arc.int; chinedu.moghalu@wfp.org
www.africanriskcapacity.org
Available for interview: Aliou Diouf, Start Network’s ARC Replica Manager
Start Network - www.startnetwork.org @startnetwork
Start Network is a global network of non-governmental organisations, made up of more than 40 national and international aid agencies from five continents. The network’s aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action and localisation.
Members of Start Network: Action Against Hunger (ACF); ACTED; Action Aid; Adeso; Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA); ARDD-Legal Aid; Cadena; Cafod; Care International; Caritas Bangladesh; Caritas Sri Lanka; Catholic Relief Services (CRS);Christian Aid; Community World Service Asia; Concern Worldwide; Cordaid; Doctors of the World; Dorcas; Goal; Humanity and Inclusion; Help Age International; International Medical Corps; International Rescue Committee (IRC);Islamic Relief Worldwide; Mines Advisory Group; Mercy Corps; Muslim Aid; Oxfam; PARC; Plan International; PRO-VIDA; Qatar Charity; Relief International; Save the Children; Solidarites International; Tearfund; Trocaire; War Child; Welthungerhilfe; World Jewish Relief; World Vision
African Risk Capacity - www.africanriskcapacity.org
The African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialised Agency of the African Union established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters. It uses development insurance tools to help countries manage natural disaster risk and adapt to climate change. ARC’s parametric insurance approach links early warning systems to contingency plans that are tied to credible national response mechanisms using satellite weather surveillance software, through which it estimates the population affected by climate-related disasters and the associated response costs.