Devex: $1.7B raised for ‘toxic brew’ of crises in Sahel
“A pledging conference hosted by Germany, Denmark, the European Union, and the United Nations raised $1.7 billion Tuesday for the Central Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In announcing that total, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock called the conference ‘a successful event’ with a ‘really good outcome.’ Of the pledged funds, $997 million is for the rest of 2020, while the remaining $725 million is for 2021 and beyond…” (Welsh, 10/21).

U.N. News: U.N. chief appeals for urgent action to reverse ‘downward spiral’ in Central Sahel
“The world must act now to reverse the situation in Africa’s central Sahel region, where humanitarian needs are at ‘a breaking point,’ U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told a high-level conference on Tuesday to address the burgeoning crisis. U.N. agencies report that needs in the border region between Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have reached record levels due to rising violence, insecurity, and now the COVID-19 pandemic, creating one of the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian crises…” (10/20).