Why are children suffering in Niger?

Niger is already one of the world's poorest countries, ranked by UNDP at 176 out of 177 countries. 63% of Niger's population live below the absolute poverty level, with women making up two thirds of this figure. The situation of women and children is characterised by women's high fertility rate, a wide gap between men and women in terms of health, education and literacy and high maternal mortality. The population is so vulnerable that any shock can kill. The twin shocks of drought and locust plague last year…

How much money does SC need in order to carry out a response to this crisis?

We have secured the £600,000 necessary to begin our emergency-feeding programme in Niger. An additional £400,000 would enable us to expand our activities to include all that we want to accomplish until the end of 2005.

Are we flying food into the country?

We have just received funding from DFID to fly in 40-45T of nutritional inputs not available in local West African markets, including Plumpy nut, BP5, F100, F75, tents, feeding kits etc. The plane will leave Ostend on Wednesday with these medical supplies, which will keep children alive in the immediate term until the food security situation improves.

How much have donors, in particular DFID given you already?

We have received £200,000 from DFID and they have agreed to fund an additional charter flight of specialist nutritional food from the UK to Niger next week. We are in the final stages of securing a further 400k from ECHO for nutrition. Both of these grants will last 6 months - however we would ideally be in a position to secure further income for a 1 year programme, which is why we are appealing for additional funds from the UK public to save children's lives over this period.

Why has the international community been so slow in their response?

There have been some concern about Niger since last year, when the twin shocks of the locust plague and drought raised concerns about this year's harvest. However, the extent of the crisis has only started to emerge since May when the United Nations made a flash appeal for $18m (£10m). There was little response. Niger is not traditionally a country where the major UK NGOs or DfID have had large programmes; as such it can be hard to raise money as it is 'off the radar', at least until the world sees images of starving children.

Given the worthy words about Africa at Gleneagles what is being done to prevent children are dying on the continent as a result of poverty?

The crisis in Niger in many ways reinforces the basic message of Make Poverty History. Remember this crisis has arisen not because there is civil war in the country, not because a Government is oppressing its own people, but because so many people in Niger are so poor. And because they are poor, the twin shocks of lower than usual rainfall a year ago and a locust plague a few months later have led directly to this dreadful situation, where so many children are literally threatened with starvation. So what we have to do is first to deal with this crisis, and then to deal with the poverty that gave rise to it.

What Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaign demonstrated beyond any doubt is that the UK public is no longer prepared to tolerate a situation whereby children are dying, in 2005, because they simply don't have enough to eat. We have to do all we can to respond over the coming weeks.

Emergencies Section

22 July 2005