Links Page on Sahel Africa

Outline

  1. A Brief Overview of the Sahel Region of Africa and its Peoples
  2. Physical Setting
  3. The Struggles of the Sahel

A Brief Overview of the Sahel Region of Africa and its Peoples

Ethiopia, Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, and Somalia are the six major countries in the Sahel region of Africa. The web pages include everything from background information on the countries to information on their military and geography.

Ancient art such as masks and figurines were left behind from ceremonies held by the former empires in the Sahel region. Since the region lies between the rainforest and the Sahara Desert it was a very busy trade route. Along the trade route many prosperous empires arose leaving behind a variety of art forms.

The native people of the Sahel region are working hard today to recover from the terrible drought and famine that occurred more than thirty years ago when nearly 200,000 people died. Dogon ritual ceremonies are performed by the men in the Sahel to allow the dead to pass into the spirit world which is one of the things that helps them cope along with other religious ceremonies. 

Physical Setting

Agriculture is what most people in the Sahel are involved in today. There is a long history of the importance of the land and agriculture to the people of Sahel. The land has been worn out in the area due to great population growth and natural degradation so studies are being conducted today by agencies to find the best way to sustain a healthy environment.

Rainfall is limited and proves to make agriculture difficult for the people in Sahel. This is not the only stress low rainfall causes; violence has broken out in many areas because food and water are scarce. Different sections of the region receive slightly different amounts of rain each year, the northern section of the region receives the least rainfall every year and it averages a mere nine inches.

The map of the Sahel region, located just north of the equator in Africa between the Sahara Desert and the rainforests near Congo. It highlights the main cities throughout not only the Sahel region but the entire country as well as major water features such as rives and lakes.  

The Struggles of the Sahel

Severe drought caused by a rapid climate change occurred in Sahel about thirty years ago shortly after the region had been colonized by the Europeans. This killed many livestock and made it hard for many agricultural crops to be grown leading to a food shortage. The debate went on for many years about why this climate change occurred they didn’t and still don’t know if it was because of human activity or if the climate naturally changed.

Recovery from the drought has been slow over the last few decades to help repair the Sahel region. The years since the drought have been tough and many studies have been done to figure out how the native people can produce enough food to survive and lessen the effects of the harsh climate.

International relief has come from many countries to the Sahel region over the past few years. A big contributor has been the United States of America, who have donated several tons of food and also given monetary support to help the region recover. 

Submitted by Bailey Snyder on February 13, 2007.