The Sahel region of Africa should not be considered a ‘land of misery’ but rather a ‘land of opportunities,’ according to the United Nations Special Adviser for the Sahel.

The region which stretches from Chad in central Africa to the west coast of the continent is one of the poorest parts of the world, where the dual effects of climate change and terrorism are leading to widespread insecurity and deepening levels of poverty.

In June, the UN presented a series of new ideas to get the region back on track. For this special edition of our UN and Africa podcast, Daniel Dickinson reports from the Sahel and talks to the man with the daunting task of turning ideas, into action.