Mauritania is not new to food crises; in the last few years it has suffered from drought and swarms of locusts that have ravaged people’s cereal harvests. It is a land where water is scarce and where people suffer from chronic poverty.

In its latest emergency response, Oxfam worked to make the connection between emergency food aid, and disaster preparedness. We supported communities to develop ‘fallbacks’ through the formation of Cereal Banks and by encouraging community-level vegetable gardens.