Mauritania
The Red Cross is helping people in Mauritania through malnutrition, displacement and climate disasters.
Last updated: 2 December 2025
Mauritania is facing growing humanitarian needs. Climate change is making life even harder for people already living in poverty. Droughts and poor farming conditions are driving hunger and malnutrition and people are struggling with basic needs.
We are working to help the people of Mauritania, but we can’t do it without your support.
What is happening in Mauritania?
Mauritania is now a major route for people migrating to Europe. This puts even more pressure on the limited resources.
- 56.9% of its population live in poverty
- Only 0.5% of land can be used for farming
- 31,000 children across two regions were treated for severe acute malnutrition in 2024
The British Red Cross has supported the Mauritanian Red Crescent for over 7 years. We work closely together and are committed to strengthening the Red Crescent for the long-term.
Over the years, we’ve supported staff and volunteer training, improving coordination and sharing best practices to help local teams respond quickly and effectively.
What are we doing to help Mauritania?
We are also supporting a new programme in Mauritania from 2025 to 2027. Focused on the regions of Assaba, Trarza, and Nouadhibou, this initiative:
- helps communities adapt to climate change
- tackles urgent issues like food insecurity, extreme weather, and migration challenges
- aims to strengthen local resilience and improve protection for vulnerable groups.
Our work in the Sahel region
The Sahel Integrated Programme for Climate Resilience and Migration supports the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements in Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad. These countries are facing the combined pressures of climate change, displacement and poverty.
The programme helps communities adapt to these challenges, while also supporting migrants already on the move. It provides life-saving support through humanitarian service points and strengthens local systems to offer safer, more sustainable options to migration. The programme helps people prepare for and recover from shocks, improve food security, and build better futures in the face of a changing climate.
Disaster Fund
A donation to our Disaster Fund will help us respond to disasters in the UK and around the world, including armed conflict, wildfires, flooding and other natural disasters
Donate to the Disaster FundOur work in Mauritania
Humanitarian aid in the Sahel
The Red Cross is helping people in countries across the Sahel through poverty, hunger, drought and other impacts of climate change.
The climate crisis
In the UK and around the world, the Red Cross is united to support people affected by climate change.