The European Union will help provide food handouts and other nutrition support to more than 300,000 people in Senegal who are at risk of hunger because of the Sahel food crisis, its executive announced on Friday. "The food crisis is threatening hundreds of thousands of lives in Senegal," EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement. "We must show solidarity and support the Senegalese government at this difficult juncture. "The 5-million-euro (6-million-dollar) aid programme will feature food rations, food vouchers, food-for-work programmes and nutrition training for pregnant women and mothers - to be provided through March in partnership with the United Nations' World Food Programme. The EU estimated last month that an estimated 18 million people across West Africa's Sahel region were in need of urgent help, following poor harvests and erratic weather patterns.
