A tale of survival for refugees in Mbera camp amid high food prices in Mauritania
In an unprecedented food and economic crisis, WFP is supporting thousands of displaced people facing hunger with food assistance.
By Kadidiata Ngaide
For the past two years, this has been a ritual that Fatimata Valet has willingly undertaken every morning. In the early hours of the day, while her children are still asleep in the tent that has served as her family’s makeshift shelter since 2012, she sets about checking the food supplies stored on a wooden shelf in a room separated from the rest of the house by a silk sheet.
After checking the amount of cooking oil in the last remaining one-and-a-half-quart bottle, with a look of concern on her face, she opens the large blue bag containing the wheat flour needed to bake Kesra, Mauritania’s king’s cake: 2022 has been particularly hard in terms of food security for her family of four.
“Between last year and this year, almost everything has gone up in the market and this has had a very negative impact on the daily life of households, even more so for us refugees who do not have a permanent income,” explains Fatimata. “Some households can barely eat three meals a day,” she adds.
“We cannot depend on assistance forever. Personally, I would like to improve my life beyond just food and maybe do a small business, but the situation right now is tough.” Fatimata says.
Amid the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, Mauritania is experiencing an unprecedented increase in food prices, which has increased the price of wheat (an imported commodity that is particularly prized in the country) by 70% compared to October 2021, and by 80% compared to the average of the last five years at the same period.
One 50kg bag of rice is now 1800 Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) or USD 48, and MRU 500 or USD13 for a 5-litre can of oil.
“At this rate, some families can’t even buy a bag of rice,” says Mohamed Ali Ag Mohamedoun, who is a head of a family of three children and a refugee who fled the conflict in Mali.
In spite of the rising food prices and limited resources, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has maintained food, cash, and supplementary food rations to prevent malnutrition to 76,000 refugees in the Mbera camp.
This food assistance, which is supported by France, Germany, the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), is also providing school meals to 6,000 children attending schools in Mbera camp.
While WFP’s assistance contributed to improving or maintaining food consumption of most refugee households throughout the year 2022, for some refugee households, food consumption was limited due to reduced access to food. With the conflict in Ukraine, market access conditions have been constrained for these households due to the continuous increase in prices of food commodities.
“Combining cash and food allows us to do many things. The cash allows us to buy other needs like clothes and medicines,” says Mohamed Ali Ag Mohamedoun. “Thanks to this assistance, we receive enough rice to last 60 days. And we have even managed to save money recently,” says Fatimata.
In 2022, the Mbera camp saw a new wave of refugees fleeing the conflict in Mali. And in Mauritania, 440,000 people are currently facing acute food insecurity between October and December 2022.
WFP urgently requires USD 7.2 million to maintain provision of food and cash assistance to refugees in Mauritania for 2023.