Policy paper

UK–Sahel region development partnership summary, July 2023

Published 17 July 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Introduction

The Strategy for International Development (IDS) places development at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. It sets out a new approach to development, anchored in patient, long-term partnerships tailored to the needs of the countries we work with, built on mutual accountability and transparency. This approach goes beyond aid and brings the combined power of the UK’s global economic, scientific, security and diplomatic strengths to our development partnerships. Our 4 priorities are to deliver honest, reliable investment, provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, step up our life-saving humanitarian work, and take forward our work on climate change, nature, and global health. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23) reiterates that sustainable development is central to UK foreign policy and sets out how the UK will go further and faster on development to reduce poverty and reinvigorate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Sahel Development Partnership Summary details how the IDS and IR23 will be put into practice in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger).

Regional context

The Sahel is one of the poorest, most fragile, climate-vulnerable regions in the world, with among the highest rates of population growth, gender inequality, and social exclusion.

Conflict and fragility

The unprecedented spread of terrorism and violence from northern Mali into neighbouring countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, and coastal West Africa, is having a disastrous human impact. Social exclusion and governance challenges are at the root of the spread of conflict. There are military transitional governments in 3 of the 5 Sahel countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Progress on these political transitions is stalling. The political discourse is increasingly polarised; it excludes dissenting voices and galvanises extremist views as it is fuelled by disinformation. Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and human rights are increasing (including by Russian mercenaries present in Mali). The risk of mass atrocities and ethnic profiling has dramatically increased.

Humanitarian crisis

This spread in conflict has driven displacement and increased humanitarian need. In 2023, 25 million people now need humanitarian assistance in the Sahel – the greatest number of people in over a decade. This is expected to continue to increase. The number of people in famine conditions is expected to reach 42,700 in the upcoming lean season in Burkina Faso (June to September), the highest on record.

Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sahel is one of the poorest regions in the world, with some of the lowest incomes. The poverty rates are estimated at over 40% in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad, 40% in Niger and 30% in Mauritania (largely because of the small population size). Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad respectively rank 184th, 186th, 189th and 190th out of 191 countries on the Human Development Index which considers life expectancy, education, and income. The region also has amongst the highest rates of gender and social inequality in the world, and some of the highest rates of demographic growth. For girls, 76% in Niger, 67% in Chad, and over 50% in Burkina Faso and Mali are married by 18. In these 4 countries, more than half of all children and adolescents do not have access to education. Over the last school year, the number of closed schools increased by 66% in the Central Sahel region alone, primarily due to conflict and violence.

Climate change

Three out of the 5 Sahel countries are among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, and least prepared to cope or adapt (Chad is last on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative’s country index). Temperatures in the Sahel are rising at 1.5 times the global average, and, by 2080, due to increase by 2.0 to 4.3°C. The region also suffers increasingly pronounced wet and dry seasons, and extreme rainfall. By 2080, projected annual precipitation is expected to increase by up to 16mm.

Economic development

The agri-food industry is the Sahel’s largest economic sector, accounting for a third of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 75% of its employment. Access to electricity is very low, which makes economic transformation challenging – only 4% of people in Chad, 18% of people in Burkina Faso and 14% of people in Niger have access to electricity.

Why and how: the UK’s development offer to the Sahel

The UK has been a long-standing partner in the Sahel and was one of the biggest humanitarian donors to the region for 20 years. In 2018, recognising the region’s growing importance on issues such as security and migration, and the need to better understand and address the underlying causes of conflict and humanitarian need, the UK expanded its presence in the Sahel. We opened new embassies in Mauritania (2018), Niger (2020) and Chad (2021), expanded the embassy in Mali, and diversified our support to include non-humanitarian assistance.

Why

The UK’s objectives in the Sahel are to:

1. Build stability and bolster conflict resolution

The UK’s Justice and Stability in the Sahel programme (JASS) supports equitable and inclusive land, natural resource governance, and justice outcomes for marginalised communities, to prevent and reduce conflict, and improve climate resilience. JASS reduces opportunities for malign actors operating in the Sahel – including the Al-Qaida-affiliated JNIM, the Islamic State Sahel Province and the Wagner Group militia – to advance their interests, by reducing opportunities for these actors to instrumentalise ethnic and socio-economic cleavages to expand their influence

Through its Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK also supports stabilisation and conflict resolution outcomes in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. These efforts aim to address root causes of conflict, protect civilians, and prevent further spill-over of violence to wider West Africa. Interventions include support to local-level mediation efforts in Mali and social cohesion in Niger. Additionally, the CSSF is funding women, peace, and security initiatives in the region with the aim to protect and promote the rights and inclusion of women and girls. This includes efforts to tackle gender-based violence in Mali and Burkina Faso as well as plans to promote women’s meaningful participation in peace and conflict mediation in Niger.

2. Improve the response to the most acute humanitarian needs

Delivering against the UK’s Humanitarian Framework, the Sahel Humanitarian Assistance and Protection Programme (SHAPP) acts regionally, enabling resources to be allocated at short notice to the areas of most acute humanitarian need where vulnerability to food insecurity and malnutrition overlaps with the consequences of conflict and violence. It supports key partners to respond to as many basic and protection needs as possible in these areas. It also supports the collection, management, and analysis of data to better understand the consequences of violence and conflict. As the region is increasingly volatile and dangerous for humanitarian actors, the programme reinforces their ability to access some of the hardest to reach areas through support to common services (air operations, security training, incident tracking, and management).

3. Support sustainable development by:

a) Empowering women and girls, and the most vulnerable populations

Through the Shock Response Programme (SRP), we are building the resilience of vulnerable populations against future crises by ensuring governments and communities can better respond to conflict, climate, food security, and other (eg COVID-19) shocks. We expect that about 503,000 women will benefit from shock-response cash payments. By 2025, over 65,000 women will be economically empowered through trainings and grants and we expect the programme will support at least 160,000 households.

The UK’s Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Dividend programme, managed by Pan-Africa Department, is a 6-year programme to support women and adolescents to have greater voice, choice, and control over their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Between 2023 and 2029, the programme will scale up sustainable, inclusive access to integrated SRHR services, support policy reform to improve SRHR, and provide technical assistance to partner governments to strengthen the evidence, use of data, and capacity.

b) Building climate resilience and accelerating access to climate finance, and supporting sustainable growth

The UK supports adaptation to climate impacts and environmental degradation in the Sahel by mainstreaming this in its investment in shock response, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance:

• through the Shock Response Programme, we aim to improve the use of climate information and data in driving an early response to identified shocks, and improve financing options in case of natural disasters
• through the Justice and Stability in the Sahel programme, we aim to better understand impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on fragility and conflict, and to increase resilience through community-led adaptation and the restoration of degraded natural capital
• through the Sahel Regional Fund, we will pilot climate resilience work in emergency contexts and understand what role humanitarian actors can play in building resilience of the most vulnerable

We help accelerate climate action in the region by supporting Sahel countries to better understand and remove barriers to accessing climate finance. We do this through deep-dives on climate finance mechanisms in Chad and Niger (undertaken by the Overseas Development Institute – ODI) and high-level engagement through the Task Force on Access to Climate Finance, co-led by the UK and Fiji.

To support economic development, we are focusing on leveraging our contributions to the international financial institutions (IFSs) to support an improved enabling environment. We are also stepping up our engagement with British International Investment (BII) and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) to identify opportunities and encourage more investment in key sectors, such as renewable energy and agri-processing, with a particular focus on Niger and Mauritania. We are also promoting opportunities for investment with UK private sector eg through trade missions, investment forums, and, in the case of Mauritania, the UK-Africa Investment Summit.

How?

Delivering UK objectives in the Sahel relies on our ability to build strong partnerships and influence key decision makers, which in turn requires credibility stemming from proximity, understanding of the context, and relevance of our engagement. Our limited programme and people resources are insufficient to deliver our ambition alone. However, our niche investments, with a focus on applying – and adding to – the available evidence and data, can catalyse changes in the approach of the international community and partner governments that lead to improved stability and development impacts.

Who we work with

• we work in the region to support the people of the Sahel, and with partner governments in areas of shared priorities. With partner governments, we underline the importance of fundamental values including human rights and IHL
• the UK welcomes increased African leadership and regional co-operation on the Sahel. We endorse the AU led political transition process in Chad and the ECOWAS led political transitions in Mali and Burkina Faso
• we work closely with the United Nations (UN), including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We second conflict advisers to the UNDP Regional Stabilisation Fund with a particular focus on protection, and work closely with UN agencies mandated to protect civilians and report against human rights abuses. The World Food Programme and UNICEF are key interlocutors on food insecurity and malnutrition. Although UK troops are leaving Mali, the UN peacekeeping mission remains important, and the UK has a key role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
• key partners delivering humanitarian aid include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including the Danish Refugee Council (and their downstream partners) as well as the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO)
• with the international financial institutions, particularly the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Africa Development Bank (AfDB), we focus on: (1) climate adaptation and resilience, (2) fragility, conflict, and violence, and (3) synergies between humanitarian and development interventions
• The Coalition for the Sahel (political coordination structure including Sahelian and international partners) and Sahel Alliance (donor coordination platform) offer opportunities to enhance international coordination on Sahel issues, particular as partners reconfigure their approach given recent political developments. The UK seconds an advisor to the Coalition to drive evidence-based lesson learning within the international community and to promote an integrated approach between political and development actors

Key programmes

• The Sahel Humanitarian Assistance & Protection programme (SHAPP) (£60.5 million between 2021 to 2025) responds to humanitarian needs in areas of most acute need and contributes to a safer and more secure operating environment so humanitarian actors can access the hardest to reach and those in greatest need of humanitarian aid. Over 4 years, the programme is expected to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid to over 1.4 million people. The programme’s predecessor provided critical life-saving food assistance, malnutrition treatment, and basic protection assistance to people with acute and protracted needs and victims of conflict. The programme ensured 2.5 million households received food assistance and approximately 851,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition

• The Shock Response Programme (SRP) (£19.5 million between 2021 to 2026) strengthens the ability of Sahel governments to respond to the impacts of climate and weather shocks (such as droughts and floods) through social protection systems that build the resilience of people to help them better cope with shocks. The expected outcome is strengthened government social protection systems and national governments better able to manage risks (including those driven by climate change)

• The Justice and Stability in Sahel (JASS) programme (£19 million between 2021 to 2026) contributes to improving security and stability in the Sahel by addressing equitable and inclusive land, natural resource governance, and justice outcomes for marginalised communities. The expected outcome is improved equitable and inclusive land, natural resource governance, and justice outcomes for Malians and Nigeriens. During the programme’s first phase, 200 Village Land Commissions were established and successfully resolved 84% of reported land conflicts. Furthermore, 12 Conflict Resolution Committees successfully resolved 83% of reported conflict incidents

Financial information

Initial allocations have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy (May 2022) and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, based on the FCDO’s Spending Review 2021 settlement.

The department’s spending plans for the period 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 have been revisited to ensure HM Government continues to spend around 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. This was in the context of the significant and unexpected costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The Government provided additional resources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to help meet these unanticipated costs. The Government remains committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal situation allows, in line with the approach confirmed by the House of Commons in July 2021.

The country development partnership summaries include the breakdown of programme budgets allocated to individual countries for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. These allocations are indicative and subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

These figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in each individual country/region. This is because they do not include spend delivered through core contributions to multilateral organisations, and country allocations do not include regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK government departments can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts and the Statistics for International Development.

FCDO ODA allocation: Sahel and Security Department

Distribution by sector of bilateral allocations from the FCDO’s Sahel and Security Department:

Figure 1. Sahel Department Sectors, financial year 2023 to 2024: Humanitarian, 81%; Stability/Conflict Prevention, 12%; Climate Change/Green Growth, 6%; Women and Girls, 1%

These figures exclude funding to the Sahel through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), and through pan-Africa and global programmes, which in the Sahel focus on Women & Girls (girls’ education and SRHR) and Climate.

Of ODA spent in the Sahel through the Sahel and Security Department in financial year 2022 to 2023, 100% is marked as being significantly focused on promoting gender equality.

Allocated ODA budget financial year 2023 to 2024	Indicative ODA budget financial year 2024 to 2025
£19,181,000	£46,000,000