Mounting crisis for conflict-hit northern Mali pastoralists

MOPTI/BAMAKO, 8 April 2013 (IRIN) - Ongoing fighting and the fear of reprisal killings has severely disrupted normal migration patterns for pastoralists in northern Mali, putting them and their families in danger of severe food insecurity and poverty as the lean season approaches. full report

Call to end neglect of emergency education in Mali

DAKAR, 15 March 2013 (IRIN) - Aid workers and experts are calling for more attention to education in Mali, where 200,000 children are out of school due to the crisis but where money for emergency education has yet to come forward. full report

Analysis: The R-word - Rhetoric versus reality in the Sahel

DAKAR, 4 March 2013 (IRIN) - The annual gearing-up of humanitarian programmes to treat the chronic problems of vulnerable Sahelians is a clear sign that development there is not working. As a result, the Sahel is at the centre of the debate on the need to boost vulnerable people's resilience to shocks. full report

African migrants pay high prices to send money home

JOHANNESBURG, 27 February 2013 (IRIN) - New data from the World Bank has revealed that African migrants pay more to send money home to their families than any other migrant group in the world. full report

Why the Sahel needs $1.6 billion again this year

DAKAR, 19 February 2013 (IRIN) - The 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy calls for US$1.66 billion to help meet humanitarian needs and build up resilience among vulnerable groups - an identical figure to the 2012 crisis appeal - even though aid agencies estimate the number of Sahelians at risk of going hungry this year has dropped 44 percent to 10.3 million. IRIN spoke to aid agency representatives to find out why the ask has remained constant. full report

In Brief: Staples, not export crops, key to tackling Africa’s poverty – report

NAIROBI, 18 January 2013 (IRIN) - Africa could reduce its poverty levels faster by focusing more on the production of staples rather than export crops, according to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). full report

Fear, rumour and relief as air strikes continue in Mali

BAMAKO/DAKAR, 16 January 2013 (IRIN) - Fear and rumour are rife in Mali as French military air strikes against Islamist militants continued for the sixth day in the centre and north of the country. full report

The urban challenge for refugees

NOUAKCHOTT/DAKAR, 9 January 2013 (IRIN) - Sequestering refugees in rural camps is no longer the norm: The most recent estimates indicate that almost half of refugees flock to urban areas and just one third to rural camps, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). But while agencies are adjusting their approaches, they are still struggling to match their response with their policies. full report

Greater efforts needed to avert herder-farmer clashes in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, 9 January 2013 (IRIN) - Recent fighting between herders and farmers in Burkina Faso’s central-eastern Sangou area which left seven people dead is a warning that recurrent violence between the two groups could get out of hand unless urgent action is taken. full report