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WFP Doubles Aid to Niger to Fend Off Eastern Sahel Drought

   Howard Lesser 29 April 2010
   A  malnourished child looks up at a make shift feed center at the town
   of Maradi, Niger, 31 Jul 2005

Photo: AP

   A  malnourished  child looks up at a makeshift feed center at the town
   of  Maradi,  Niger,  31  Jul  2005.  Officials are trying to prevent a
   current  drought  over  the eastern Sahel from sparking a similar food
   emergency this year.

   A  severe  food  emergency  in  Niger has prompted the U.N. World Food
   Program  (WFP)  to  more than double its assistance to victims of this
   yearâs  drought  in  the  eastern Sahel.  As the West African country
   enters  its lean season, WFP senior spokesperson in the United States,
   Jennifer  Parmelee,  says  that  $182 million is needed to relieve the
   food  insecurity of more than half of the countryâs population of 13.5
   million.

   In February following a bitter constitutional crisis, a military junta
   removed longtime President Mamadou Tandja, who had tried to extend his
   term  beyond ten years, from office.   Parmelee says that with a new
   government in place in Niamey, providers are better prepared than they
   were  five  years  ago, when an earlier drought destroyed harvests and
   dried  up  grazing  lands,  and the government did not acknowledge the
   crisis quickly enough.

   âThe  last  time  around,  it  took  the  government  quite a while to
   recognize the crisis, and that did feed in to the late response by the
   international  community.   But  you  have  to  look  at  Niger.  In
   general,  there  are a multitude of structural issues.  By almost any
   measure,  it  is  the  worldâs  poorest  country.  Years and years of
   deprivation  have  left  them  extremely vulnerable to any crisis that
   could  come  along.   The  last time, it was a plague of locusts, and
   this  time  itâs drought.  Any crisis at all can tip over millions of
   people,â she cautioned.

AFP Photo

   World Food Program Executive Director Josette Sheeran: "Niger has been
   hit  extremely hard by the drought and the world has to act to prevent
   massive human suffering and the loss of a generation."

   The  U.N.,  through  its  World  Food  Program  and  Emergency  Relief
   Coordinator,  is  organizing  development and humanitarian agencies to
   reinforce  grain  stocks  and staff feeding centers to give particular
   attention to pregnant and nursing mothers, young children, and fragile
   patients  already weakened by tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS.  Spokesperson
   Parmelee  says  that community grain distributors are already in place
   and  gearing  up  to provide greater supplies and subsidies during the
   peak of the crisis.

   âThere  are  these community cereal stores.  They are aimed at women,
   who  are  traditionally  looked  at  as  the providers of food for the
   family,  and  they can indeed buy grain at subsidized prices.  And we
   anticipate  that  getting to its peak at the peak of the lean season.Â
   Roughly, it runs from May to September, so that by mid-summer, we hope
   that these will be up and operating in full stream,â she noted.

   Many  school children are expected to receive meals during the crisis,
   and  other  vulnerable food recipients of imported food stocks include
   children  under  five  in  the  worst-affected areas, who will receive
   supplementary  feeding  and infants under two, who will take part in a
   blanket feeding program, which Parmelee says is essential.

   âThis  is  designed  to  keep children in that very critical window of
   what we say zero to two years of age, which is for malnutrition a very
   critical  stage  of life.  If you miss out on the main ingredients of
   nutrition in those years, you suffer the consequences in terms of both
   your physical stature and your mental development for the rest of your
   life.  So itâs vital that we target this population of children,â she
   explained.

   Parmelee  says  that  because  Niger is landlocked, local supplies are
   being  obtained  from  neighboring  Nigeria, an active trading partner
   with Niger.  Added deliveries from another major provider, the United
   States, are expected to take as long as four months to arrive, but are
   said already to be in the pipeline.

   Landlocked Niger is surrounded by six countries, making it challenging
   for   aid  agencies  to  coordinate  food  relief  deliveries  to  the
   drought-stricken country.

   Signs  of  drought  over  the  eastern Sahel have lingered for about a
   year, destroying harvests and drying up grazing lands in a region that
   has  long been subject to recurrent aridity.  Nigerâs last major food
   crisis in 2005 came on even more quickly and resulted in a higher loss
   of  life  than international aid agencies had anticipated.  Despite a
   current   shortfall  of  $98  million,  coordinators  say  significant
   supplies  are  starting to roll in, and by doubling the target numbers
   of  people  they  anticipate  reaching,  they  hope  to  fend  off the
   casualties of 2005 this time around.

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