Since 2012, Mauritania, especially the Hodh Chargui region, has been facing a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the massive arrival of refugees from Mali, which has put severe pressure on local resources. Mauritania faces several protracted crises, including serious food insecurity, water shortages and fragile health infrastructures. Insecurity on the border with Mali and climate change are worsening the living conditions of the population, which is largely dependent on trade and the distribution of water and grazing resources for livestock farming.

Action Against Hunger supports refugees, returnees and host populations through the Karama, Net-Aichou, Tawafoug and Urgence projects, funded by the European Union, ECHO and the Centre de Crise et Soutien. These initiatives target key areas like Food Security and Livelihoods: setting up market gardens; supporting income-generating activities; setting up food banks and distributing food for livestock; producing fodder; improving access to water for livestock; and distributing emergency cash to refugees and host populations in situations of acute food insecurity.

Work has also been carried out to: build, rehabilitate and equip wells and boreholes; promote campaigns to raise awareness of good hygiene practices; distribute hygiene kits as part of the emergency response; construct and rehabilitate health centres and equip health facilities; build capacity of health staff; distribute enriched flour to prevent malnutrition; and distribute khaimas (traditional tents) and improved stoves to meet the urgent shelter needs of newly arrived refugees.

In Gorgol and Guidimakha, where the needs of the population are much more closely linked to structural factors, Action Against Hunger continues to run nutrition, agro-pastoral resilience and socio-professional integration projects for young people (UNICEF, AECID, PADEM).