Rising prices in food: 6 countries in West Africa have received more than 13 million US dollars from the United Nations Central Emergency Revolving Fund

Dakar, 6 August 2008: The United Nations has recently allocated over 13 million dollars to six countries in West Africa, to assist in alleviating the consequences of increasing food prices on vulnerable populations.

The amount was received from the Central Emergency Response Fund of the United Nations, created in March 2006, to respond in a rapid and efficient manner to humanitarian emergencies and also to reduce loss of lives. It was decided by Member states of the United Nations that the CERF should be managed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and should be accessible to agencies of the United Nations system and the International Organisation for Migration.

The amount was distributed as follows:

Burkina Faso: 2 million US dollars (August 2008)

Côte d'Ivoire: 2 million US dollars (July 2008)

Guinea: 4 million US dollars (July 2008)

Liberia: 1.9 million US dollars (July 2008)

Mauritania: 1.1 million US dollars (July 2008)

Niger: 2 million US dollars (August 2008)

The wave of tensions following the increase in food prices and the bad agricultural season in 2007 in West Africa are consequences of a number of problems, such as drought, malnutrition, floods, poverty, food insecurity, epidemics, hill side erosion, etc., which the region is experiencing ' declared Hervé Ludovic de Lys, Head of the Regional Office of OCHA for West Africa. ' The CERF funds have been allocated in time to relieve the affected populations during the critical phase of the lean season, which started earlier than foreseen, but can in no way replace the massive investments required in the agricultural sector '.

Since 2006, the CERF has provided more that 92 million US dollars to humanitarian projects in numerous countries of West Africa in response to neglected crises and emergency situations, notably in the response to floods.

Contacts:

OCHA Dakar: Amadou Kane kanea@un.org +221 33 869 85 14, mobile +221 77 639 20 18

OCHA Genève: Elizabeth Byrs byrs@un.org +4122 917 26 53, mobile +41 79 473 4570

OCHA New York: Christina Bennett bennett1@un.org +1 917 367 8059, mobile +1 917 4358617