The people of Jersey are helping to provide vital relief to thousands of people facing drought and severe food shortages in The Gambia.
A generous donation from the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission is helping ActionAid act quickly to support affected people and to help prevent another crisis.
Poor rainfalls have left large areas of West Africa facing severe drought and food shortages.
In The Gambia, where 75% of people make a living from agriculture, it is estimated that 700,000 people – 42% of the population – is going hungry.
The situation is being worsened by high food prices, which have risen 25% in the last year.
ActionAid is providing 50,000 people with urgently needed food and clean drinking water. At the same time, it is providing seeds, animal feed and farming products to ensure next year’s harvest is more successful.
And in the longer term, it is helping farmers irrigate their land and diversify their crops to provide a more stable source of food and income.
Sujit Peris, Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships, ActionAid UK said: "The support of Jersey Overseas Aid Committee for the food crisis in The Gambia means an incredible amount to us, and will make a real difference to the communities we are working with who are facing food shortages."
"The Committee have once again been incredibly generous in their support of ActionAid, and we are especially grateful for their long term commitment to supporting ActionAid’s work, particularly for forgotten crises like this one in The Gambia."