Nature: Avert catastrophe now in Africa’s Sahel
Alisha Graves, academic coordinator and co-founder of the OASIS Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues

“…Our analyses of population projections and the probable impacts of climate change on food security in this ecologically vulnerable zone indicate that four steps are needed to head off these effects. We call on governments worldwide, together with those of seven countries spanning the Sahel (see ‘Defining the Sahel’), to invest in girls’ education; expand people’s access to family-planning information and services; increase agricultural production; and increase security using local police forces as well as national and international military services. Neglect just one of these actions, and political or economic systems could fail. … The humanitarian implications of the emerging crisis in the Sahel must be brought to the table at high-level meetings of the U.N., African Union, and E.U. The OASIS Initiative (Organizing to Advance Solutions in the Sahel), which was co-founded by A.G. and co-signatory M.P., plans to hold a conference with Sahel and European partners next year to increase donor investments in girls’ education and family planning…” (11/13).