Sahel Caritas unite to address Mali humanitarian crisis

A comprehensive communication strategy is being developed.

Ouagadougou, 20 February 2013 – Caritas organisations from across the Sahel are joining forces to tackle the food and socio-political crises gripping the region. This is the aim of a meeting that opened on 19 February in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, bringing together Caritas representatives from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal. Since 2007, these groups have formed the Sahel Caritas platform.

The gathering, which runs until 23 February, includes information officers and emergency response specialists. Their goal is to establish a regional communication network linking the various Catholic relief agencies.

This meeting is part of the Emergency Appeal 28/2012 project, titled “Project to strengthen Caritas’s capacity for preparedness and comprehensive response to humanitarian emergencies caused by the crisis in Mali”.

Father Isidore Ouédraogo, Executive Secretary of Caritas Burkina, explained that the meeting aims to create a common working framework for all communication and emergency officers in the Sahel Caritas network, thereby improving their intervention capabilities.

Estimates indicate that approximately 300,000 Malian refugees are currently hosted in neighbouring countries.