The Sahel region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures rising 1.5 times faster than the rest of the world are causing more intense droughts and floods consequently threatening the agropastoral livelihoods of most of the population. In 2007, the African Union launched the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative to restore 100 million hectares of the continent's degraded landscapes, combat desertification, and help people in the Sahel mitigate and adapt to climate change.

More than a decade in, with roughly 15 per cent of the GGW initiative underway, over USD 8 billion has been raised from various partners for this African-led initiative. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) shares the GGW initiative's ambition to restore Africa's degraded land. This gargantuan project spanning 8,000km across the continent is needed to address the climate and biodiversity crises, support a green, resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening food security and creating jobs, and foster peace and security in the Sahel.