On July 2005 the International Federation launched an emergency appeal for Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania. The Red Cross Movement's response to the food crisis in the Sahel focused primarily on Niger, with on-going assistance in the form of human resources and funding being provided to food distribution operations in Mali and Burkina Faso.
In Niger, the focus of Phase 1 emergency activities (covering the period for July 18th 2005 - December 31st 2005) was threefold:
- Financial Assistance: In response to the Federations International Niger Appeal released on July 18th 2005 the Irish RC forwarded €100,000 into the Federation's Emergency Fund. This funding came from Irish RC private resources.
- General Food distribution: A further €250,000 was contributed in the Emergency phase towards the lease and transport of vehicles for the distribution of food to 130,308 beneficiary / 23,673 families. 1,935 MT of food commodities was distributed. This distribution included beneficiaries from the region of Agadez (Irish RC's operational area at the time) and targeted some 11,277 families with 960Mt of food commodities. Again this funding came from Irish RC private resources.
- Human Resources: Coordination and cooperation as part of logistics, human resources and programme support was established early on between the Federation and The Irish Red Cross with the deployment of an Irish RC Senior Relief and Livelihood delegate responsible for the IFRC Sahel operation at the end of August 2005. The delegate worked closely with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in the region of Agadez. €40,000 was provided for the funding of three local/regional staffs in the areas of health, relief and disaster preparedness. Funding was from Irish RC privates resources.