Socio-Economic Effects Of Drought In The Semi-Arid Sahel: A Review

Abstract

Drought in the Sahel is a feature which affects different aspects of peoples’ lives and their environment, including the mortality of people and livestock. Lack of proper infrastructure also triggers effects on socio-economic activities. Severe drought and natural resource constraints triggered by water scarcity in the world’s drylands, in addition to rapid population growth, acute poverty and drought coping conditions, contribute to hunger, social conflicts and environmental degradation. Sahelian rainfall declined ∼20-30% towards the end of the 20th century; the 1970s droughts (‘Great Drought’) showed different severity across the region. In 2011 severe drought struck Somalia, causing a humanitarian crisis which affected over 10 million people, 2 million among them were malnourished children, leaving 380,000 refugees in Kenya. This research is a review of socio-economic effects of drought in Sahel to make recommendation for Yobe state, Nigeria.