Conflict, economic shocks and climate change have left record numbers of people facing extreme hunger in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

A new era for foreign aid is upon us - whether we like it or not. Global needs and extreme poverty are escalating and increasingly concentrated in countries where we see an alarming convergence of conflict and climate change. At the very moment these needs are rising, traditional donor funding is sharply declining - forcing difficult choices about who receives assistance.