ARMED CONFLICTS, HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AND ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SAHEL REGION

In examining armed conflicts and Humanitarian crisis in the Sahel Region, this paper observed with keen interest that the persistent and growing strength of violent extremist organizations in the Sahel threatens to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and spread instability across the Sahel region of Africa. The study was based on the Neo-Malthusian theory which insists that there exist a relationship between environmental changes and insecurity since the former would bring about scarcity in resources and the latter would also occur because of competition over scarce resources leading to violent conflict and crime. The methodology of the study was that of the qualitative method based on secondary sources of data collection. The study discovered that violence in the Sahel has exponentially increased the rate of displacement and migration from the region, compounding pressures on northern and coastal African states and Europe, the epicenters of violence and humanitarian disaster are in the Liptako-Gourma and Lake Chad Basin sub-regions. Based on the above, the study recommended that Governments across the central Sahel and affected coastal countries, along with technical and financial partners, to significantly scale up investment in expanding access to essential social services and protection, as key pathways to peace and security.