United Nations, Ramadan 29, 1435, July 26, 2014, SPA -- Two U.N. agencies on Friday urged the international donor community to help the Sahel region fight hunger and food insecurity issues. Africa’s Sahel region has suffered terrorism, weak governance, and droughts, which have contributed to the food insecurity crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a joint statement. “If we are going to break out of this cycle of chronic crises across the Sahel region, emergency assistance to vulnerable farmers and pastoralists has to be considered a top priority,” said Robert Piper, the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel. FAO asked donors in February for $116 million to help 7.5 million vulnerable people in the Sahel, but only $16 million has been received. Refugees fleeing from the conflict in Central African Republic, Nigeria, and northern Mali are seeking shelter with host families in neighboring countries, but their food reserves are already limited. “With timely donor support, FAO still can prevent further degradation of livelihoods and missed planting opportunities for many vulnerable communities, while at the same time strengthening their resilience with long-term interventions,” said Bukar Tijani, FAO’s assistant director-general and regional representative for Africa. --SPA 13:31 LOCAL TIME 10:31 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w