February 16th, local time, during the summit of the Group of Five Sahel (G5 Sahel) held in Chad, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres delivered a video speech and stressed his concern about the situation in the Sahel region to the heads of state of the member states of the group.
The deteriorating security situation and violence are exacerbating the already difficult humanitarian situation in the region.
Guterres pointed out that more than 2 million people have been displaced in the Sahel region.
He said the coronavirus pandemic has increased the fragility of existing situations, increased economic and health challenges, and pushed more than 6 million people into extreme poverty.
The Group of Five Sahel plays a key role in resolving the crisis.
The Sahel Group of Five consists of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger
