22 May 2012

SAHEL / AMOS

Speaking in Burkina Faso, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said in that country alone, about 2.8 million people – one fifth of the total population – need help, including half a million malnourished children. Amos is on a trip to review the response to the Sahel region’s food and nutrition crisis. OCHA

Posted at: May 22, 2012 3:46 pm

Duration: 02:32

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: SAHEL / AMOS
TRT: 2.32
SOURCE: OCHA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 22 MAY 2012, OUAGADOUGOU AND DJIBO, BURKINA FASO

SHOTLIST:

22 MAY 2012, OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO

1. Wide shot, Ouagadougou
2. Med shot, photographers at Government House 
3. Various shots, Valerie Amos meets Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré

22 MAY 2012, DJIBO, BURKINA FASO

3. Med shot, guards at the Mentao refugee camp in northern Burkina Faso
4. Various shots, Malian refugees
5. Various shots, refugees celebrating Valerie Amos' visit to the camp
6. Med shot, Valerie Amos talking to refugees
7. Various shots, Touareg refugees 
8. Wide shot, livestock belonging to the refugees which the aid agencies are trying to help keep alive
9. Various shots, Valerie Amos vaccinating a goat
10. Various shots, nearby villagers in the north of the country (and citizens of Burkina Faso) are assessed by health authorities preparing food distributions in the town of Djibo
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
"We're talking about 18 million people across the region, here in Burkina Faso it's about three million, in Niger its about 6.5 million, in Mali it's about 3.5 million so in some ways the situation (across the region) is comparable. The important thing this time is that you have governments that have admitted there is an issue that have put strategies in place - we launched an appeal last night for $126 million to support the response here and I very much hope that our donors will be generous."
12. Med shot, mother and child

STORYLINE:

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos has been in Burkina Faso for the past two days assessing for herself the impact on local communities of the Sahel region's food crisis, as well as the situation of the Malian refugees in the country.

Amos met today (22 May) with Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré to discuss the ongoing response to the food security and nutrition situation, and ways to support the efforts of his government to strengthen preparedness and early action, and community resilience.

According to the Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 2.8 million people in the country – one fifth of the total population - need help, including half a million malnourished children.

The situation has been made worse by the impact of the conflict in Mali. More than 60,000 Malian people have fled the fighting and crossed the border taking refuge in Burkina Faso – into areas which are already extremely vulnerable.

In northern Burkina Faso, Amos met local authorities and families receiving help in nutrition centres. She saw mothers from two villages waiting to have their children registered and treated. Amos also talked with Malian refugees living in the camp.

Amos said that across the Sahel region, about 18 million people needed urgent help: three million in Burkina Faso, 6.5 million in Niger, and about 3.5 million in Mali. 
 
She noted that this time the important thing was that governments had "admitted that there is an issue" and had put strategies in place. Amos said OCHA had launched an appeal last night (21 May) for $126 million "to support the response here and I very much hope that our donors will be generous".