LAT: Hunger Reaches Crisis Level in Niger

[DeepModem Mom]

Hunger Reaches Crisis Level in Niger
By Robyn Dixon, Times Staff Writer


MARADI, Niger -- The frail baby boy she cradles has arms no thicker than her finger. His belly has hollowed and his skin has sagged as his weight has dropped....

***

In the best of circumstances....hunger shadows Niger and its neighbors along the southern edge of the Sahara desert. Malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and other ills kill one in four children before the age of 5.

But last fall, things got much worse. The rains failed. Then the locusts, the worst infestation in 15 years, arrived.

A United Nations appeal last November for help for Niger was virtually ignored. Another appeal in March for $16 million resulted in about $1 million in contributions. Even as world attention was focused on Africa at last month's Group of 8 summit of the world's richest nations, little happened. Niger was offered debt forgiveness, but nothing was done about the hunger issue.

The crisis underscores one of the long-standing problems faced by international relief agencies. It is much easier to raise money once starvation has set in and children are dying than to prod donors to prevent a looming crisis....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-niger5aug05,0,3761186.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[imenja]

1. Such an important issue. What can we do to help?

Anyone have any ideas for action?

This is more important than Novak and the other issues that dominate this site.

[Mojorabbit]

2. cnn has some links for aid

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/07/29/niger.aidgroups/index.html

[imenja]

3. Thanks. I also posted a thread in the DU activist headquarters

suggesting that we do a letter writing campaign.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=20725&mesg_id=20725

[DeepModem Mom]

4. kick

[Beaverhausen]

5. another kick

whenever I walk into a grocery store I feel guilty knowing that so many people in the world go hungry every day.

:cry:

[UrbScotty]

6. If Bush were REALLY a good Christian and pro-life...

...he'd be doing something about it.

[electron_blue]

7. Remind me again what he's doing right now?

heavy sarcasm, of course.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. Did you watch Anderson Cooper's Niger program tonight?

"Starving in Plain Sight"...:cry: OMG...it's just absolutely HEARTBREAKING! I have to give props to Anderson for doing this series. I want to know how this country can just sit here and do NOTHING? How can those politicians sleep at night? It's shameful. Shame, shame, shame on them for ignoring this!

Life expectancy in Niger is 42 years old!!!!! :cry:

Here it's 78 years old!!! That's HORRENDOUS!