The Sahel region is at a crossroads. Poverty, inadequate infrastructure, armed conflict and environmental challenges create recurrent humanitarian crises. USAID in the Sahel aims to reduce chronic vulnerability by alleviating systemic issues while promoting resilience against economic shocks, natural disasters and conflict.

Background

The World Bank estimates one-third of development funding is lost to disasters and crises. Resilience measures enhance coping mechanisms for hardships like natural disasters, terrorism and failed harvests.

Economic vulnerabilities and a growing youth unemployment fuel grievances and radicalization. It is now the epicenter of terrorism according to the Global Terrorism Index. The Sahel experienced 47% of global terrorism deaths in 2023. The UNOCHA estimates that 35 million people in the Sahel need humanitarian assistance.  11.6 million are food insecure, 2.2 million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, 5.6 million people are internally displaced and 1.7 million refugees, according to the 2024 Humanitarian Programme Cycle.

The Sahel is exceptionally vulnerable to natural disasters; rising temperatures and droughts worsen already poor agricultural conditions. These factors and flawed farming practices increase desertification and soil erosion, leading to unsustainable economic approaches and shock vulnerability.

The Impact of USAID in the Sahel Region

Working with civil society, international partners and local government, USAID helps provide humanitarian and development support. In 2022, the Sahel Regional Office managed approximately $235 million for development activities and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) allocated $857 million for humanitarian assistance.

According to the 2023 Sahel Regional Office Factsheet, that year, USAID funding in the Sahel:

• Provided health care to 405,000 mothers and newborns. Furthermore, funding treated 146,000 child diarrhea cases and 450,000 childhood pneumonia cases in Burkina Faso.
• Helped 1.2 million individuals access improved water facilities.
• Helped manage 508,000 hectares of farmland and helped 320,000 individuals learn management practices in agriculture in Burkina Faso and Niger since 2020.
• Assisted more than 170,000 food-insecure individuals in Mauritania
• Provided critical food assistance to nearly 1.8 million people in 2022, built 70 shelters and provided health and kitchen supplies to nearly 7,000 displaced people in Chad.

USAID spent $2.392 billion total in the Sahel in 2023, and $1.154 billion so far in 2024 for food, health, agriculture and governance assistance.

USAID and Resilience Measures

USAID’s Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative focuses “on systemic solutions” that coordinate relief and development efforts with international donors “to support country-led plans.” RISE focused on agricultural opportunities and disaster management for chronically vulnerable households, according to a 2022 USAID report.

The program’s first stage disbursed $348 million and reached 1.9 million of the Sahel’s most vulnerable people in Burkina Faso and Niger. It mitigated the rise in food insecurity and the effects of shocks by expanding access to loans and insurance, educating people on risk and disaster preparedness and supporting social cohesion networks.

The RISE I program directly prevented one in five extremely vulnerable individuals from experiencing severe food insecurity. It mitigated the increase in food security between 2017 and 2020 to a rate of 2.9% compared to 16.5% in non-RISE areas. The program also mitigated the increase in moderate to severe food insecurity between 2017 and 2020 to an increase of 35.6% compared to 74.6% in non-RISE households.

RISE II, implemented from 2019 to 2025, focused on building resilience to economic, natural, conflict and health shocks in Burkina Faso and Niger. It secured $446.3 million in funding through 2023.

USAID in the Sahel supported economic well-being by improving access to financial services and market infrastructure. It strengthened governance through natural resource, risk and conflict management programs. USAID improved health by improving water access, nutrition, family planning and sanitation.

Security Interests

USAID in the Sahel aims to strengthen state legitimacy and curb terrorist groups and adversarial powers. However, international counter-terrorism support and regional leadership are failing. Several Sahelian countries recently experienced coups or attempted coups, including Russia-supported military regimes.

Weak infrastructural power catalyzes conflict. States cannot provide adequate social services or security, increasing local armed group influence. For example, Mali’s backing of ethnic militias and Burkina Faso’s reliance on less civil and accountable security forces created rivalries over resources and territory.

USAID in the Sahel reduces regional conflict by improving disaster reliance and addressing underlying causes of terrorism. USAID serves U.S. foreign interests by supporting regional partnerships and counter-terrorism efforts to maintain the U.S.’s presence.

Conclusion

USAID in the Sahel helped those living in extreme poverty mitigate economic and environmental risks. RISE targeted the systemic causes of poverty and promoted resilience to shocks caused by climate change, conflict and economic shifts.

The U.S. has ceded significant regional influence and failed to prevent coups and radical insurgent groups.  USAID recognizes the Sahel’s security-environment-poverty nexus and has made substantial, lasting impacts on people living in extreme poverty.

– Luke Ravetto

Luke is based in Boston, MA, USA and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pxhere