The Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) was created on September 12, 1973 following the major droughts that hit the Sahel in the 1970s. It currently includes thirteen (13) member states including: 8 coastal states (Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo); 4 landlocked states (Burkina