ABSTRACT
The Sahel is the focus of attention paid to the African drought and its victims. The media was captured by the tragedy and because of its coverage, multilateral and bilateral aid poured into the region. The internal causes of the decline in the Sahelian economy, several factors stand out: the low standard of living, high population growth rates, inappropriate government policies, and drought. The environmental factors played a role in the retrogradation of the Sahelian political economy. The Sahel de-development has occured and this can be measure by the deterioration of infrastructure, the shrinking of health and welfare services, and the increasing gap between the rural and urban sectors. The organization they formed, the Comite permanent Inter-etats de Lutte contre la Secheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS), follows a tradition of regional integration among African states. CILSS departs from other regional organizations in that it has taken into consideration Sahelian dependency in the world economy.
