The United States Announces Humanitarian Assistance for the Sahel Crisis Response

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale announced more than $80 million in humanitarian assistance to respond to the crisis in the Sahel on behalf of the American people.  This funding, which was announced at the March 19 meeting of the Coalition for the Sahel, will respond to the crisis in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, where more than 20 million people are in need of urgent aid.  U.S. humanitarian assistance will provide critical protection, economic opportunity, shelter, essential healthcare, emergency food assistance, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services.  This life-saving assistance is critical for the survival of nearly three million refugees and internally displaced people, and it helps host communities across the Sahel.  The funding includes more than $25 million from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and more than $55 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.

The United States is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance, both in the Sahel region and globally.  The urgent humanitarian needs in the Sahel call for sustained and coordinated donor support to help those in need.  The United States Government appreciates the contributions made by donors to date and calls on those donors who have not yet stepped up to urgently support the humanitarian response in the Sahel.