Niger food crisis looming
2010-03-22 20:08
Geneva - Malnutrition in the African state of Niger is on the rise and a food security crisis is expected to develop, a humanitarian aid society warned on Monday.
The number of malnourished children being admitted to feeding centres was up 60% in January, compared to the same month in 2009, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.
A "serious food security emergency" in Niger was emerging, the federation said, citing data from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network.
The peak was expected to hit in June as supplies dwindled following a bad harvest.
"We are very concerned about the fact that more than half of rural households have no cereals left in stock," Mamane Issa, secretary general of the Niger Red Cross, was quoted as saying in a statement.
The IFRC appealed to donors for $932 400 (986 862 Swiss francs) to help mitigate the impending emergency, saying it had already pumped 229 000 francs into the country this year for food aid.
Some of money would go to seeds and other agricultural projects to assist with the upcoming harvest and a prevent another bad cycle.
Niger, a landlocked former French colony with an estimated 15 million inhabitants, last month saw a return to military rule, after Mamadou Tandja was ousted as president and generals took over the key positions of power.
An overwhelming majority of the population lives in deep poverty in the underdeveloped nation.
- SAPA