The Sahel: No Security without Development

The Sahel region is experiencing major upheavals: How are they affecting the action of the Sahel Alliance and AFD Group in the region?

Françoise Chalier: We are witnessing a security and governance crisis in the region, and the situation is getting worse, despite the G5 Sahel’s efforts to support the countries. Three of them are experiencing a political crisis: Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. This affects the capacity and operating methods of the main donors, such as AFD and the Sahel Alliance. But it does not stop us from remaining on track with concrete action for the benefit of the people, regardless of the security and political conditions.

For further reading: Sahel Alliance: Data Portrait of the International Response to the Region’s Challenges (in French)

For example, in Bamako, cooperation with the Malian State is currently very difficult, which requires that our operations in support of the civilian population to be independent of State structures. The aim is to limit the risk of predation in particular in favor of mercenary companies. So we focus on direct financing for NGOs and other field operators, for example, with Expertise France, a member of AFD Group. Elsewhere, in Burkina Faso and Chad, the cooperation is continuing with all our financial tools.

What action has been taken for operations in areas subject to greater tensions?

F.C.: In the tri-border area, straddling Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the deterioration of the security situation is particularly marked and, apart from the capitals, all regions are under terrorist threat. This obviously means we have to renew our approach to development. Before 2017, we didn’t know how to intervene in the midst of such a crisis. This prompted AFD Group to set up the Minka Peace and Resilience Fund, which is dedicated to containing and preventing conflicts. It is currently providing 60% of our grant financing in the Sahel region.

This tool allows us to operate through grants in the most difficult areas, with a grassroots approach tailored to people’s needs, and with accelerated procedures to take account of the urgency. We work with the authorities, local operators, decentralized services and field-based NGOs. In this way, we can prevent and resolve conflicts based on the “Do no harm” approach.

Further reading: AFD's Wide-Ranging Work in the Sahel

But the security situation is sometimes so bad that even our operators must sometimes suspend or withdraw their activities, before redeploying in the field. It is the flexibility of the Minka Initiative's financing plans that allows this agility: not all the funds are earmarked, meaning we can adapt to the fluid situation.

The choice of operators for carrying out development projects is important, as their local knowledge allows them to analyze the stakeholders and maintain a dialogue with all the communities involved. Our projects are being implemented despite the difficulties, and the disbursements are continuing at a highly satisfactory rate.

How do you assess the progress achieved by the Sahel Alliance four years after it was set up?

F.C.: The Sahel Alliance was set up in July 2017 under the impetus of France. The other founding members were Germany, the EU and the World Bank. It had six members at the time. There are now 26 and the US, Canada and Sweden are to become full members at the next General Assembly. It shows the relevance and legitimacy of a Sahel Alliance recognized by the donor community.

In terms of action, it has a total of 1,000 projects amounting to some €23 billion of investments. The portfolio is constantly growing and has tripled since it was established. So, the Sahel Alliance has the effect of unifying and scaling up financing, although its primary purpose was not so much to “do more” but to “do better”, meaning to improve coordination between the many donors working in the Sahel.

We have modernized governance at the level of the capitals of the member countries. There is an operational steering committee, which meets two to three times a year; there are liaison experts on the ground, which act as coordinators for the Alliance; and in Brussels, the Sahel Alliance Coordination Unit handles information and coordination for all the members. All these components form a comprehensive governance network allowing the Alliance to deploy the full force of its action.

How has the Sahel Alliance adapted its action to the emergence of new crises?

F.C.: In particularly fragile areas, the Sahel Alliance has developed tools with an integrated territorial approach, in agreement with the G5 partners. Ten priority areas have been identified, either in the epicenter of the crisis or in areas requiring prevention. We assist them through multi-sectoral approaches that address a broad range of issues, even security issues. This is the case in Mauritania with the Hodh el Chargui region (in the southeast of the country). It is a prevention area where this optimized coordination led to a roundtable meeting in Nema last November, headed by the Prime Minister. 

The Sahel Alliance has also developed its ability to analyze local situations. For example, AFD Group has developed the PASAS tool (Sahel Analysis, Monitoring and Learning Platform). It has been opened to the other members of the Alliance and allows them to share data to improve the understanding of the local situation.

We have also created a territorial database that maps who does what and where: it is possible to optimize the activities on the ground by directly following the action of the World Bank and AFD. These maps include contextual information to facilitate the coordination between donors and authorities. But these projects are still in progress and some countries have more catching up to do than others.

The Sahel is changing. How does the Sahel Alliance aim to anticipate these upheavals and support the region in the coming years?

F.C.: We have clearly reached a turning point for the region. This security and political situation has prompted the French President to announce a number of new policy moves on the sidelines of the EU-African Union Summit of 17 February 2022. The announcement of the withdrawal of the Barkhane forces from Mali and the European Takuba forces from the region marks an organizational shift. 

There has also been an inversion of the priorities previously set by the Sahel coalition. It was based on four pillars, the first of which covered the security intervention with the Barkhane operation, and the military aspect was central to all the others. The declarations of Emmanuel Macron make it clear that development issues will now be the top priority.

As the saying goes: there is no development without security, and no security without development. So, it is a key moment to confirm that development can and must provide the solution. And we’re going to focus on avoiding any deterioration in the prevention areas, such as the cross-border regions in the north of the Gulf of Guinea where there are worrying signals, and in the east of Senegal.

Our Minka financing tool will be relevant for conflict prevention and will be deployed in these prevention areas. The key themes that will guide AFD Group's action are based on three pillars. First, all aspects of governance, including finance, democracy, justice and internal security, to help build the States. Second, youth and women: in the Sahel, 65% of the population is under 30. The region can bounce back with their help, but we must remain vigilant: if left to their own devices, neglected youth can fall prey to Jihadism. 

We must therefore address the need for education, employment and training. And as women are often vehicles for peace, we are focusing on them. In 2020, we set an objective for the empowerment of women and young girls. Smaller urban areas are another major line of development. They are faced with very strong population growth, and inadequate services. These cities have potential and we must ensure they don’t become sources of insurgency. Basic public services must reach the entire territory, even remote towns. 

In the longer term, we are focusing on the Great Green Wall, the African Union’s flagship initiative to combat the effects of climate change and desertification in Africa.

This project addresses such issues as resilience to food security, land restoration and the renewal of agricultural practices. A joint statement will be made on the Great Green Wall at the next General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance.

For further reading: Kanta Kiari, a Vegetable Grower in the shade of the Great Green Wall