Drought-stricken Africa (From SAWADOGO Seydou, Lycée Yadéga, Ouahigouya)

Paris, April 18.     Massive international aid is on the way to six West African countries hit by a drought which began seven years ago and has now reached catastrophic proportions.
Nearly 25 million people and more than three million square miles, equivalent of half Europe- are affected in the Sahel (western and southern Sahara) regions of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Upper Volta, Niger and Chad where food supplies are now dangerously depleted.
According to the French State Secretariat for Foreign Affairs in charge of the cooperation, between 20 and 40 per cent of all livestock in Senegal and Mauritania and between 10 to 20 per cent in Niger and Chad, have already perished.
The aid is flowing in from United Nations agencies, from the European Economic Community of which the six West African countries are associate members, and from individual countries including France, Spain, the United States and Canada in the Western world and Algeria in Africa itself.
The six West African countries have also launched a joint emergency self-help programme, with a permanent committee to coordinate their efforts.
The United Nations aid has been organized in Rome by three agencies ¬ the Food and Agricultural Organization ( FAO), the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP), and the World Food Programme (WFP) ¬ on both a short and long-term basis.
WFP id supplying 50,000 tons of cereals-worth $7.7m- and a group of technical experts, subsidized by UNDP already in the Sahel.
The EEC has granted emergency aid equivalent to 32,000 tons of cereals from each of its member states, and three of these states- West Germany, France and Belgium- are sending additional supplies of 52,000 tons of cereals and feeding stuffs.
The European Development Fund is supplying transport for this aid, as well as animal foodstuffs and medical supplies.
Among individual countries, France is supplying 40,000 tons of cereals in addition to its contributions through the EEC.

The Times, April 19, 1973.

I -GUIDED COMMENTARY. ( 14 marks) Read the text answer the following questions.

1. Has the International Community reacted spontaneously to the drought situation in Africa? Justify your answer from the  text.(3marks)
2. Is the drought phenomenon serious in the text? Why? (4marks)
3. Have the drought-stricken African countries relying on the outside aid only? Justify your answer from the text. (3marks)
4. In addition to food, what else is the international aid with? (4 marks)

II- ESSAY. ( 6marks)

Write a paragraph on the following topic: According to you, what are the causes of drought in Africa? ( 10-12 lines)