Editorial – September 2022
Madam, Sir, dear members, dear partners,
I am honoured to address you today in this first editorial as the new Coordinator of the Alliance’s Coordination Unit (UCA). Please be assured of my deep motivation to work with each and every one of you, in the Sahel and within the member institutions. In order to build on the momentum generated by the Coordination Unit, I will put at the service of the Alliance and its partners the experience I have gained over more than thirty years in the field of official development assistance, its coordination and the promotion of partnerships.
In several regions of the G5 Sahel, the populations are facing multifaceted crises that cannot leave us indifferent and call for increased mobilisation. The worsening security situation, which is particularly sensitive in certain areas, is causing population displacements, affecting agricultural production and the circulation of basic goods, and contributing to a lasting deterioration in living conditions and social ties.
In addition, the inflation of prices for basic foodstuffs, cereals and fertilisers, as well as the impacts of climate change, are exacerbating an already critical economic situation for many Sahelian families. Concrete, innovative responses, as close as possible to the people, must therefore be sought relentlessly, in a concerted and coordinated manner. Meetings at the highest level on the situation in the Sahel are punctuating the agenda at the end of the year, underscoring the international community’s great interest in the future of the region.
Let us not forget that the Sahel remains a land of opportunities, replete with human capital, cultural and natural resources, which are all levers on which it is urgent to anchor a dynamic of action, aligned with the priorities of our partners, to contribute to a better future.
To this end, the Sahel Alliance has an important role to play along with its Sahelian partners in the implementation of coordinated and more efficient responses to crises, and their prevention, in the field of development. This stepping up of our joint efforts will be supported, in line with the guidelines set at the last General Assembly, by the new chairmanship of the Operational Steering Committee (OSC), which is now held by the World Bank and embodied by its Vice-President for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana.
In this spirit, an independent review of the Alliance, the principle of which was agreed at the last OSC in Bonn, will take place in the coming weeks. It will be a qualitative review of the Sahel Alliance’s achievements since its inception, the main challenges and opportunities, in a changing context, the purpose being to identify recommendations aimed at strengthening the operationalisation of the Alliance on the ground in particular. All members will be consulted and the conclusions will be presented during the next OSC.
Finally, the next Climate COP will be held in November in Sharm El Sheikh. The Sahel is one of the regions most affected by the consequences of climate change, and the Alliance members are strongly mobilised to support the countries most exposed. In addition to financial and technical support, through mitigation and adaptation projects, special attention will be given to advocacy and awareness raising. The country report on climate and development that has just been published by the World Bank Group for the G5 Sahel countries is an important tool for identifying the main actions and policy changes needed to accelerate the region’s economic recovery, sustainable and inclusive development and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
Furthermore, cooperation between the Great Green Wall Accelerator and the Sahel Alliance is continuing, notably through reinforced coordination in the field of project monitoring and evaluation and within the framework of information and advocacy-related actions.
I would like to conclude by reiterating my commitment to pursue the work of the UCA and the Sahel Alliance as closely as possible to the field. At the beginning of October, I will begin a series of visits to the G5 Sahel countries. I will have the opportunity to meet with local authorities and representatives of Alliance members. The primary objective of these missions to the Sahel will be, by listening to our partners, to enrich the reflection on the ways and means to, together, accelerate the implementation of solutions adapted to the Sahelian populations and realities for ever greater impact.
We hope you enjoy reading our monthly newsletter,
Emmanuel Debroise
Content of the newsletter:
- Newly released Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for the G5 Sahel region
- Implementation of the ITA in Chad: field meetings and consultations with local authorities
- A new liaison expert to strengthen the Sahel Alliance’s dynamic in Chad
- Entrepreneurship as a way out of food insecurity for the most vulnerable people in Niger (a story from USAID)
