Study on humanitarian and stabilisation action in the Central Sahel

Strengthening coordination and safe spaces for humanitarian and stabilisation action in the Central Sahel

Objectives of the project

The main objective of this project is to enable active dialogue between stakeholders based on common understanding of the context and the various perspectives, around the questions “what went wrong, what went right? Is there anything that could have been done differently?”.

To achieve this, several studies will be carried out to:

• Better understand the different processes and contextual evolutions that can impacts international stabilisation efforts and strategies.
• Understand and analyse perceptions and attitudes towards stabilisation actors/project in the Central Sahel and the consequences for humanitarian action (for both humanitarian actors and beneficiaries).
• Explore the condition that support better co-existence of stabilisation and humanitarian responses among stakeholders and thereby maintain added value of both approach.

Geographical analyses proposed

The expected results are the production of three stand-alone papers:

• Study n°1 on Mali & Burkina Faso:

In Mali and Burkina Faso, armed groups destabilising presence and actions could not be controlled, why? Why international support to efforts to control / stabilise these situations has failed so far? What has been the consequence for humanitarian actors?

• Study n°2 on Niger & Mauritania:

Taking as examples Niger and Mauritania, undertake an analysis of apparently successful experiences where the mix of national and international efforts apparently succeeded in stabilising the situation. How did humanitarian aid and stabilisation efforts managed to “co-exist” in these situations?

• Study n°3 on Senegal & Ivory Coast:

Taking the example of Senegal and exchange with a limited number of stakeholders in Ivory Coast, analyse how national policy and international aid (humanitarian and development aid) actors have designed their efforts to contain instability from neighboring Mali. 

The main findings of this work will then be widely shared via dedicated communication media and workshops.