CARE food aid reaching the hardest-hit families in Niger's crisis Many families affected by the food crisis in Niger are starting to improve their diets thanks to humanitarian intervention, although malnutrition rates in the West African nation remain extremely high.
Humanitarian organizations and the Nigerien government are providing 15 to 30 days' worth of food for the most vulnerable families. As people have started consuming the distributed cereals and pulses, they have been resorting less to eating unhealthy "starvation foods."
CARE Niger has already distributed 8,000 metric tons of food in the zones most affected by the crisis in the regions of Diffa, Maradi, and Tahoua, in partnership with the government, the World Food Program (WFP), and Save the Children. The ration includes grains, dried beans, and, in the most critical zones, oil. These distributions are improving both the quantity and quality of food for whole families, including mothers and children.
Food distributions are targeting some of the worst-affected communities.
CARE conducted a nutritional monitoring survey of 3,270 children from 69 communities receiving distributions in the first week of September. By measuring the circumference of children's mid-upper arms, CARE found that more than 33 percent were malnourished, 7.5 percent severely so. By contrast, the most recent statistics show that Niger overall has a global malnutrition rate of 20 percent and a severe malnutrition rate of 4 percent. Monitoring teams will return to the same villages after a month to evaluate the impact of food distributions.
In the regions of Tahoua and Zinder, CARE has opened nutritional recuperation centers for moderately malnourished children and is referring severely malnourished children to special treatment clinics. In 16 centers in the Zinder region, over 1,000 moderately malnourished children have been admitted and have begun treatment using nutritionally dense and locally available foods. Over 100 severely malnourished children have been referred to specialized clinics. The number of centers is increasing in both regions to meet the needs of the great numbers of moderately malnourished children.
Malnutrition of children is chronic in Niger due to a number of economic and cultural factors. The already dismal situation was aggravated this year by the food crisis, which meant poor families had to consume fewer meals of worse quality.
While food prices have come down somewhat in recent weeks, healthy food remains unaffordable for the poorest Nigerians. The price of a 220-pound sack of millet, the staple grain, is between $45 and $50 – about one quarter of a typical Nigerian's gross income. The supply is still limited in most rural markets and in the eastern commercial center of Maradi.
The poor have become increasingly vulnerable during this food crisis, since they have had to sell many of their possessions to buy food to eat. Many families have sold their animals, vital to their livelihoods in this agricultural nation.
Confronting malnutrition in Niger requires both immediate relief and a long-term commitment. CARE's strategy includes:
CARE Niger has benefited from long-term experience in the country, dating back to CARE's response to the 1974 drought. Today CARE has the largest presence of any international humanitarian agency in the country, with a staff of 309 Nigeriens and two expatriates. CARE works in more than 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in close partnership with communities and local humanitarian organizations.
Media Contacts:
Atlanta: Lurma Rackley, CARE USA, lrackley@care.org, (404) 979-9450
Johannesburg: Kenneth Walker, CARE, walker@caresa.co.za, +27 11 234 1221, +27 82 336 8312
|
