Beyond any drought. Root causes of chronic vulnerability in the Sahel

This report looks at how development agencies and governments in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso understand and tackle vulnerability. The 2005 food crisis highlighted the extent of vulnerability in the Sahel, attracted international attention and released large sums of money to help people survive the immediate crisis. Most studies carried out after the crisis focus on the particular circumstances of events in 2005. This report was commissioned by the Sahel Working Group, which was concerned that too much attention was given to a very specific scenario, and too little to the increasingly unacceptable levels of vulnerability which preceded the crisis and still persist two years later.

 P. Trench et al, The Sahel Workin Group - June 2007