DAKAR: There was no meat in the large silver bowl around which Astou Mandiang and her family gathered after breaking fast at nightfall in Senegal’s capital Dakar, where Muslims celebrating the holy month of Ramadan are feeling the pinch of inflation.
Food prices in West Africa have shot up by between 20 percent and 30 percent over the past five years, with drought and conflict pushing millions off farmland and stalling food production, aid agencies say.
At the same time, border closures during the pandemic have disrupted supply chains.
The war in Ukraine is likely to add even more pressure on Muslim households stocking up on food and beverage to cater for visiting family, neighbors and those in need.
“At the market there is a lack of food,” said Mandiang, stirring a simmering fish and tomato stew in a damp kitchen without electricity.
“Prices have soared and we return home without knowing what to cook,” said the 64-year-old, who scrapes a living by selling porridge on the side of the road.
Fish, cheaper than meat in the ocean-facing country, is now the only animal protein Mandiang can afford for her family.
She was grateful to have stocked up on onions, key to many traditional dishes, before increased demand during Ramadan further increased prices.
Most of the food traditionally consumed in Senegal, including the staple rice, is imported.
“We depend on external logistics,” Action Against Hunger regional representative Mamadou Diop told Reuters.
Economic sanctions against neighboring Mali over a military coup, for example, have increased the price of beef in Senegal because Malian livestock can no longer be sold across the border, he explained.
Charities that distribute food during Ramadan are struggling to fund their usual donations.
Scouring market stalls for the best deals, charity worker Astou Ndour said her organization would only be able to support 80 families this year, compared with 90 last Ramadan.
Cooking oil is 50 percent more expensive. The price of rice has risen by around 10 percent.
“When give us change we think they made a mistake,” said Mandiang. “They tell us the price has risen, and there is nothing we can do.”
Rising food costs hamper Senegal Ramadan traditions
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Rising food costs hamper Senegal Ramadan traditions
- Most of the food traditionally consumed in Senegal, including the staple rice, is imported
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
