The north of Senegal is characterised by high temperatures, frequent drought cycles and increasingly low rainfall, with the main socio-economic activities being livestock breeding, cereal crops and the exploitation of pastoral resources. The livelihoods of local communities depend mainly on environmental resources, meaning they are especially vulnerable to repeated climatic shocks. The national prevalence of chronic malnutrition in children stands at 18 per cent, and acute malnutrition at 10 per cent. Significant regional disparities are present, especially in the northern regions. For chronic malnutrition, prevalence is 22.9 per cent in Saint-Louis and 25.3 per cent in Matam.

The November 2024 Cadre Harmonisé showed that northern Senegal is most vulnerable to acute food insecurity, classified as being in crisis (phase 3). This vulnerability was exacerbated by the exceptional flooding of the Senegal river in October 2024. The analyses pointed to a drop in agricultural production, a deterioration in livelihoods, and a rise in the price of staple cereals as causal factors.

In 2024, Action Against Hunger helped to reduce the food vulnerability of 9,312 people in the northern region of Senegal, specifically in the regions of Matam, Saint-Louis, and Louga. Our multi-sectoral projects aimed to tackle food and nutritional insecurity by focusing on its root causes, including vulnerability to climate shocks and degradation of pastoral land.

The follow-on projects from the Integrated Food and Nutritional Resilience Support programme (PIARAN) funded by UNITLIFE in AECID, strengthen market-garden production at village level. In addition, we implemented an innovative project piloting holistic management of a pastoral reserve, with early results showing restoration of grazing land for livestock and contribution to local livelihoods.

We are also focused on contributing evidence to “what works” in the areas of malnutrition, food security, and resilience: the TISA project evaluates the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)-nutrition link in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition; the ECNUT project trials an entirely community-based approach, with communities responsible for carrying out their own self-diagnosis, prioritising problems and devising solutions adapted to the socio-economic environment; and finally the SAM Photo project is testing a smartphone application for the diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition in children.