Humanitarian Crisis in Niger

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN NIGER

Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to express my deep concern about the unnecessary suffering that is occurring in the African country of Niger. Last year's severe drought and locust infestation destroyed most of Niger's harvest and the fodder necessary for keeping livestock. As a result, an estimated 3.6 million people including 800,000 children under the age of 5--are now facing starvation. Aid workers in the field describe the situation as desperate, and report that children are dying daily and families have turned to a diet of acacia leaves and grass.

I urge the administration to continue to respond and to work with other donors to ensure Niger's humanitarian needs are met. In particular, it is crucial that USAID make certain the recently announced $7 million in additional emergency funds go immediately towards alleviating the hunger in the hardest hit areas: the agro-pastoral regions of Maradi and Tillaberi and the pastoral regions of Tahoua and Zinder. Reportedly, there is a shortage of therapeutic feeding centers and clinics, and weakened villagers cannot manage the travel required to reach them.

We also need to address long-term food security issues in the Sahel, where drought and famine regularly afflict these poorest nations. Earlier this year I traveled to three of Niger's neighbors--Algeria, Mali, and Chad. I heard firsthand accounts of how devastating the locust crisis was, and I heard a consensus regarding the need for permanent mechanisms to facilitate crisis response and to prevent emergencies in the future. As the tragedy in Niger demonstrates, even when governments, international organizations, and NGOs are able to anticipate food insecurity almost a year in advance and implement their assistance programs, we can still have a crisis. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes media coverage of already emaciated children to jolt donor countries into emergency action. We need to remain alert and responsive to World Food Program appeals for extra funding before the starvation begins, and we need to stay committed to long-term efforts to improve food security throughout the region.

http://thomas.loc.gov/