Emergency Programme for the Stabilisation of G5 Sahel Border Areas

The Sahel remains one of the poorest regions in the world, facing significant economic, social and climatic vulnerabilities. The complex security challenges in parts of the region are exacerbating this situation, and the population’s rising frustration in the face of radipidly spreading violent extremism has particularly increased the region’s fragility.

This situation is especially difficult in remote and cross-border areas where the G5 Joint Military Force is intervening. These remote areas have historically been neglected, with local government being largely absent and basic social services and infrastructure lacking. These areas are thus witnessing a vicious circle, with the lack of development leading to tension and conflicts, which in turn cause further poverty and marginalisation.

Stabilisation through a multi-donor approach

The “Emergency Programme for the Stabilisation of G5 Sahel Border Areas” is part of the Sahel Alliance’s response to the G5 Sahel’s Priority Investment Programme (PIP) and Emergency Development Programme (PDU) – the latter being an initiative of the G5 Sahel’s Heads of State to rapidly launch quick-impact projects to stabilise the G5 Sahel border areas.

Through an integrated multi-donor approach, the programme is financed by the European Union’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the Germand and the Danish government an amount of approximately EUR 89.3 million. All projects financed under this programme respond to one or several of the G5 Sahel’s PDU pillars:

Pillar I: Contribute to improving the living conditions of the populations through better access to water and sanitation.
Pillar II: Strengthen the livelihoods of agricultural and pastoralist populations by building resilience to food and nutrition insecurity in a sustainable and structural way.
Pillar III: Supporting local communities and institutions in conflict prevention and strengthening social cohesion.

The programme is a direct response to the request of the G5 Sahel Heads of State to finance the PDU, developed jointly with the G5 Permanent Secretariat in the framework of the Sahel Alliance with contributions from its members.

Programme Objectives

The programme aims to improve the living conditions, resilience and social cohesion of vulnerable populations, in particular by improving access to water in the most fragile regions of the G5 Sahel countries where the Joint Force is active and where state services are extremely limited. G5 Joint Force operations target three zones of intervention along the borders of the Sahelian states: the western border region between Mauritania and Mali, the centre border region between Mali,Burkina Faso and Niger (Liptako Gourma) and the eastern border region between Niger and Chad.

A programme supported by: