Eighteen-million Africans of the Sahel region who face drought-induced starvation now qualifiy for matching funds from the Government of Canada.
Donations to qualified aid agencies received between Aug. 7 and Sept. 30 will be doubled with contributions from the Canadian International Development Agency. CIDA gets the ball rolling with a $10 million contribution to the Sahel drought matching fund.
"It acts as a stimulus," said Michael Casey, executive director of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. "Of course it's a good thing."
Development and Peace has been trying to stir up interest in the eight-country drought for months. It enlisted the help of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in late May. That appeal has pulled in $340,000 so far to help fund a $5-million feeding and agricultural rehabilitation program jointly conceived by Development and Peace and Canadian Foodgrains Bank. In addition, Development and Peace is working with Caritas Internationalis on longer term projects in the region.
But the disaster stretching between Senegal in the west and Chad in the east hasn't taken newscasts and front pages by storm.
"There's going to be more media now," said Casey. "It's been a slow onset and now we're coming to the starting line."
The matching fund may reward tardy parishes that have not yet forwarded money collected so far to Development and Peace. CIDA officials say it doesn't matter when the funds were actually collected. They will be matched if Development and Peace receives them between Aug. 7 and Sept. 30.
Matching funds are "an exceptional measure in response to catastrophic disasters striking developing countries," said an e-mail from CIDA's communications department to The Catholic Register.
There have been seven matching fund appeals launched since Ottawa pioneered the approach in response to the massive Boxing Day 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
"It sends a signal to Canadians that the government is worried about the situation — that it's serious and they want Canadians to respond," said Canadian Foodgrains Bank spokeswoman Emily Cain. "It leverages people's money. It makes any donation go twice as far."
A quiet media response to the crisis has translated into a lukewarm donor uptake so far, said Cain. Over the summer Canadian Foodgrains Bank has collected $25,000 for the Sahel.
The partnership between Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Development and Peace has made the most of partnerships both agencies have with local actors in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, said Cain.
"The Sahel can be a difficult place to work, but Foodgrains works through local partners. That means these are people who already know the systems, how things work in the country, and already have longer term relationships with communities," she said.
Adding Caritas to the mix ensures there also are programs to respond to the drought in other countries, and to respond with programs that last longer than feeding stations and seed distribution.
"That's been a really great partnership," said Cain.
Because of the early warnings from Caritas, Development and Peace has been planning and working on its Sahel response since Christmas, said Casey.
CIDA has so far spent $47.5 million on humanitarian assistance in the Sahel. Development and Peace hasn't had any of that money — which goes largely to direct, country-to-country aid or United Nations agencies. But Development and Peace does plan to apply for future funding CIDA makes available to its proven partners, said Casey.
"We would certainly look at collaborating with others because that's all part of the leverage aspect. If we work together on these things with other agencies we can have greater impact," he said. "Our program has been very effective so far."