*Guest blog by Emma Sturrock, Senior Officer, Emergency Response
In 2012, 18 million people faced food insecurity in countries across the Sahel region of Africa, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. This emergency may have gone unnoticed by Canadians due to limited media coverage but it did not go unnoticed to the Canadian Red Cross or the greater Red Cross Movement. Early warning mobilized the humanitarian community and authorities to take early, coordinated action with the aim to save lives, protect and recover livelihoods and build resilience for future food crises.
With support from the Canadian public and the Government of Canada, we were able to deploy six delegates to the field in order to support IFRC operations. I had the opportunity to visit several communities in the Gambia and Senegal earlier this year, and saw first hand how our approach to this response has reinforced the value of having the right people on the ground at the right time to support communities in need. One of the individuals I had the pleasure of meeting was man by the name of Mayel Diagne, a 48 year old father of five from Ndoye Diagne, a small community in northern Senegal. He shared his story and thanked the Red Cross for all of the assistance he received, including seeds and gardening tools. It was great to see the impact the Red Cross was having at the local level and how simple interventions can make a significant difference.
Click here to view additional photos from my visit.