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AFRICA
Food security, defined by the World Food Summit of 1996 as "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life," is one of the most important issues of the twenty-first century. Approximately two billion people are intermittently food insecure due to poverty, and 850 million are chronically hungry. The Sahel region of Africa is particularly food insecure for a variety of geographic, demographic, and economic reasons that have resulted in food shortages and famines affecting millions of people and contributed to conflicts in Sudan and Somalia. Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa, the Sahel bridges the gap between the Sahara desert and the southern savanna. Approximately 50 million people live in the Sahel region, which includes parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. The Sahel has had periodic food shortages and famines following droughts throughout recorded history, the most recent of which occurred in the summer of 2 010 when temperatures rose above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in some regions. Seven million people, primarily in Niger and Chad, faced severe food shortages. Although relief agencies have become more effective at anticipating potential famines and responding to existing crises, food security issues in the Sahel have been consistently worsening for the past few decades and show little sign of improving, with some experts predicting another food shortage as early as 2012.
The Sahel's...