Originally published August 28 2005
African nation of Niger suffers from famine
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Because of years of drought and problems with locust, the African nation of Niger is suffering from famine that could be relieved with increased and more efficient humanitarian aid.
The African nation of Niger is currently plagued by widespread famine resulting from years of drought and a recent locust plague.
Though the world has reacted by providing much-needed aid and funding, two Tufts experts in the area of humanitarian response say that such crises can be averted with more efficient aid distribution and disaster planning.
"Alarm bells should have been going off when the livestock in the pastures in Niger started to get thin.
But we have to wait until the actual children are dying before there's a significant response," Timothy Leyland, head of the Africa team for the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts, told WBUR's Here and Now.
"At the end of the day, it's the government's responsibility to look after its people.
And, admittedly, it's a poor government, but it's getting significant resources from the international community for its annual budget," he said.
"Could not some of those resources be channeled into, for example, appropriate early warning systems that look at the livelihoods of the pastures in northern Niger?"
"The diversification of how those people make a living is important, but we're dealing with extremely dry and remote areas.
"You have to sell the cattle when you need to turn that into money to buy food," Peter Walker, director of the Famine Center, told New England Cable News.
Though governments may be quick to respond to a tragedy when it gains attention -- such as through graphic images on newspapers and television -- the Tufts humanitarian experts say that such a response is inefficient and can drain funds needed for other humanitarian emergencies around the world.
The grounds are often no more than a few months in duration whilst the emergency is happening and then they dry up," Leyland said on WBUR.
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