Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

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Child Malnutrition in Cote d’Ivoire

For the past six years, the rate of chronic child malnutrition in Cote d’Ivoire has remained at a whopping 40 percent. This is slightly higher than the overall population’s malnutrition rate, which is a solid 30 percent. The Ivory Coast, located on the coastal edge of Western Africa, experiences high malnutrition rates due to a multitude of factors including high food prices and inadequate food access, which is a consequence of hot, dry weather.

Tumultuous political circumstances from the early to late 2000s divided Cote d’Ivoire into North and South; rebels then controlled its northern region. As a result, government and public services in the north were wrecked, the economy collapsed and food access was scarcer than ever. Health and food distribution services were no longer functional. Thankfully, in 2008 its government created nutrition centers in the north and east, of which there are now 14.

Yet, the regions exhibiting the highest chronic rate of malnutrition in Cote d’Ivoire are Bafing, Worodougou and Montagnes. Additionally, the Savanes, Worodougou and Montagnes regions exhibit the highest concentrated rates of consequent stunted growth. Widespread national poverty as well as thousands of displaced peoples further complicate the dire circumstances.

It is evident that Cote d’Ivoire’s government lacks the funds necessary to effectively combat its malnutrition problems. A few humanitarian organizations have assisted, most notably Action Against Hunger (ACF) from 2002 to 2011. ACF’s aid ceased abruptly when its funds were depleted. The organization retracted much of its aid and missionaries, a circumstance that somewhat reversed the critical progress it had contributed.

Diarrassouba Issouf, an official at the Family Protection Unit in Korhogo, said that the humanitarian organizations’ exits left primary areas without food and resulted in fewer women visiting nutrition sites.

Cote d’Ivoire’s stagnating and critical malnutrition levels, especially in young children, demands immediate attention. With more international humanitarian assistance and aid, more lasting improvement may be on Cote d’Ivoire’s horizon.

– Arielle Swett

Sources: All Africa, Action Against Hunger, UNICEF
Photo: News Wire

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5 World Hunger Solutions

World Hunger Solutions
Approximately 1 billion people worldwide live in hunger, despite the fact that there is enough food on the planet to feed all 7 billion of the world’s living humans. Here are five world hunger solutions:

1. Feeding Programs and Food Aid Donations

Probably the most obvious of the five solutions, the most immediate, if not the most sustainable, way to end hunger is to put food directly in the hands of those who are hungry. Feeding programs and efficient food aid donations have proven to be an extremely effective way of doing so.

Getting food to the hungry until they are able to produce it themselves is not a matter of implementing feeding programs and donating food – it’s about making the programs that already exist more effective. For instance, the Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014 that was introduced in Congress on June 3 strives to greatly increase the economic effectiveness of U.S. food aid by ending requirements that food aid must be purchased domestically rather than locally, a requirement that significantly drives up the price of food.

By turning a careful eye to the programs that are in place today and making slight reforms to them where necessary, it is possible to feed millions more people around the world.

2. Education and School Meals

Providing all school-aged children with a proper education is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that they don’t face hunger as adults. By providing kids with the knowledge and skills to procure jobs, education prepares them to be self-sufficient in the real world.

It’s important, though, to make sure that children are fed while they’re in school. Not only does this encourage them (especially those children who do not receive enough to eat at home) to come to school, but it also increases their focus and improves their performance while they’re in the classroom.

3. Sustainable, Practical and Dependable Agriculture

Implementing sustainable, practical and dependable agriculture is a three-fold task: international aid organizations must work with farmers and communities to promote vegetarian diets, embrace GMOs and adopt urban farming practices. Only by accomplishing each of these tasks will hungry communities be able to produce enough food to sustain themselves in the immediate future.

Why vegetarian? It can be a hard sell, it’s true – especially in places where meat is already a large portion of the local cuisine or plays a role in a cultural tradition. While we certainly don’t want to interfere in local cultures, reducing the global demand for meat is an important step toward making more food available for the hungry. It is estimated that for every 100 calories fed to a cow, a human will reap only 2.5 calories from eating its beef. Calorically, raising livestock for the sole purpose of eventually consuming them is extremely expensive. By decreasing the size of the meat industry, we could simultaneously decrease worldwide hunger.

Genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs, are another controversial topic. GMOs indisputably play a large role in helping the hungry, especially in nations where meteorological events are wreaking havoc on the agricultural yield. Some GMOs are specifically modified to be more resistant to droughts or floods than are conventional organisms, making them especially hardy in tropical and arid regions of the world. Planting GMOs in nations with extreme climates makes their populations less vulnerable to hunger. Better yet, many GMOs are nutritionally-enriched.

Urban farming has also captured headlines recently, but is usually cast in a positive light. That’s because the practice makes efficient use of urban space that is often overlooked and underused. Poverty is becoming an increasingly-urbanized affliction, with over 28 percent of poverty worldwide occurring in cities. In Asia, a staggering 50 percent of the impoverished live in urban areas. In order to get food into urban areas, it’s time we start producing food in urban areas. Urban farming is the answer to increasing food security in cities. It’s already proven to be extremely effective at reducing hunger for those living in Indian slums.

These agricultural adaptations certainly won’t come easy in many parts of the world, but implementing these changes even over a period of time is sure to yield major results.

4. Women

Despite making up more than half of the world’s population, women often exercise less agency when it comes to decision-making and have less access to resources such as education than do their male counterparts. These inequalities are just part of the reason why women experience hunger at higher rates than men do. Ironically, it’s women who do most of the world’s agricultural work. In Africa, 80 percent of farm workers are women; unfortunately, though they work with food all day, many of them don’t have enough of their own to keep themselves and their families well-nourished.

Investing in these women, however, is an unexpected way of bringing world hunger to an end. Typically, food goes farther in the hands of women than in the hands of men – it is more likely to nourish more members of the family, especially children. In regards to children, pregnant women are particularly in need of adequate nutrients – healthy mothers bear healthy kids.

Giving a woman food and the power to afford and obtain her own food in the future is the best way of ensuring that she and her family do not suffer from hunger. In Brazil, children are 20 percent more likely to survive to adulthood when their mothers control the family’s income. It’s time to invest in women – investing in them is investing in ending hunger.

Another way the U.S. can invest in women is by making contraception affordable, accessible and understandable to them worldwide. Globally, we’re facing a crisis of overpopulation, and more mouths are more difficult to feed. Lowering worldwide fertility rates is a key part of solving hunger.

5. Infants

Babies are particularly vulnerable to disease and infection, and hunger and malnutrition only exaggerate that weakness. By giving babies a healthy, well-nourished start to life, we give them a greater chance at making it to adulthood.

How does this end world hunger? Healthy children can attend school, grow up to find employment and make better lives for their own children. A healthy populace begins at birth.

World hunger isn’t going to end tomorrow. But by understanding some of the tactics we can use to end it, we might sooner bring about a world where everyone is well-fed, healthy and happy.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, Food for Life, Borgen Project, World Watch, WFP

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UN to Provide Food Aid to Yemen

Food Aid to Yemen
Nearly 54 percent of Yemen’s population remains below the country’s poverty line. The rate of unemployment among young people in Yemen has grown to be around 60 percent of the population.

“Preliminary studies show that between March 2011 and March 2013, Yemen’s economy saw a loss of about $4.75 billion as a result of oil pipeline bombings and acts of sabotage targeting some installations,” said Yemeni Minster of Oil and Minerals, Ahmed Abdullah Daris.

Recently, the United Nations food agency has stated that they are scaling up their food aid to Yemen as nearly half of the population is going hungry. More than 10 million of Yemen’s 25 million inhabitants either require food aid due to an inability to find enough food for themselves, or are teetering on the edge.

In 1996, the World Health Organization defined food security as “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.”

Food security is built on three pillars: (1) food availability, or the opportunity to have sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis; (2) food access, having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet; (3) and food use, appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

“The country has one of the world’s highest levels of malnutrition among children,” said World Food Programme spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs, “with nearly half of all kids under the age of 5—a full 2 million of them—stunted. A million of those kids are acutely malnourished.”

The problem is difficult to tackle. Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been going through a difficult political transition since the removal of president Ali Abdullah Saleh after a year of deadly protests against his 33-year rule.

At the same time, Yemen is also vulnerable to international hikes in food prices, since it imports around 90 percent of its main staple foods like wheat and sugar. The price hikes, according to the U.N., affect around 90 percent of Yemeni households and may be the reason why nearly 50 percent of children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Starting in July, the U.N. agency plans to launch a special two-year “Recovery Operation” aimed at addressing long-term hunger in the region. The Recovery Operation will help to ensure food stability for around 6 million people. Under the program, the U.N. will provide malnutrition prevention and treatment, give 200,000 girls in school take-home rations and will help create rural jobs, improve farms and water supplies.

The program aims to safeguard Yemeni lives and boost food security and nutrition in poverty-stricken areas. The program seeks to reach 6 million Yemeni people from mid-2014 to mid-2016, and will aim to provide solutions for long-term relief instead of short term. The U.N. has announced that their efforts would only offer temporary relief.

The U.N. warns, however, that the aid increase will be costly, with the agency estimating that the two-year program will cost around $491 million.

– Monica Newell

Sources: Gulf News, Press TV, Al-Monitor, Yemen Post
Photo: Care

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What is a Food Riot?

Throughout history, food shortages have led to civil unrest. Most notably in recent history, the Global Food Crisis of 2008 spurred an outbreak of food riots around the world. Now, with food prices increasing at the highest rate since 2008, political leaders are concerned that a similar outbreak of food riots may be on its way.

In the beginning of 2014, international food prices rose 4 percent. In the time between January and April, food prices spiked to a level just short of their all-time high in August 2012. The rapid increase is similar to the surge in food prices in 2007 and 2008 that led to so many food riots.

If history repeats itself, the recent food price hikes give government officials adequate reason to worry.

The difficulty with monitoring food riots is that the term is loosely defined. In broad terms, a food riot is some sort of public disturbance raised in response to food’s availability. Interpretations of this definition, however, are as varied as the riots themselves, leading to a great deal of confusion surrounding the topic of food riots.

How severe must the disturbance be to earn the title of a riot? A food riot is generally a violent protest. Participants have been known to harm other citizens or police forces. In return, police forces respond with brutality to control the situation. Some news articles will only cite occasions that have resulted in casualties as food riots.

Other news sources believe that any public response to food-related issues falls in this category. They report even the most peaceful demonstrations as food riots.

Where is the proper balance? How can the media successfully educate the public on these world events without an accepted definition of a riot?

In the wake of recent food pricing inclines, The World Bank has developed a widely accepted definition to guide examinations of these conflicts. Their 2014 Food Price Watch defines a food riot as “a violent, collective unrest leading to a loss of control, bodily harm or damage to property.”

The definition has helped The World Bank determine which episodes in the recent past were actually food riots. A database of food riots between 2007 and 2014 has since been collected, revealing that 51 riots have taken place in 37 countries.

The cause of food riots also prompts confusion. Increasing food prices are not the only cause of riots. In Vietnam, decreasing prices of coffee have resulted in violent outbreaks in the past. A decline in value of major exports can have just as strong of an impact on a nation as unavailability of food and other resources.

The World Bank has also established guidelines for the causes of food riots, saying that they are “motivated by a lack of food availability, accessibility or affordability,” whether directed at the government or other groups.

There are two types of food riots. In a Type 1 incident, the riots are directed at the government. Distress takes its form in public protests outside of government buildings, often in response to rising food prices. It is the most common form of food riot reported in the media because their causes often have international implications.

In a Type 2 episode, rioters demonstrate near food suppliers because they are not politically driven. They attack supply trucks, stores or refugee camps. These riots are more locally focused and occur during times of drastic food shortages.

Defining food riots helps aid organizations determine how to best help areas experiencing food shortages to prevent violent outbreaks. Government officials know how to respond to rising food prices by studying food riots of the past. By alleviating causes of global hunger, aid organizations and government officials can increase peace in underprivileged nations.

– Emily Walthouse

Sources: Food Price Watch, Global Issues, Slate, The World Bank
Photo: NPR

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Food Alone Not Enough for Malnourished Children

Researchers studying malnourished children in Bangladesh have concluded that current therapeutic food interventions, while effective in saving lives, is not enough to reverse damage done in formative years.

Doctors have been trying to address problems that formerly malnourished children now in treatment still face such as stunted growth, immune deficiencies and slow intellectual growth. It is now becoming apparent that these development challenges are due to an immature system of microbial organisms that inhabit the digestive tracts of healthy children.

In the study, researchers compared fecal samples of 64 malnourished children to samples from 50 healthy Bangladeshi children that had been collected monthly over the first two years of their lives. In the healthy samples, 24 species of bacteria were found and used to predict the maturity of a child’s microbial system.

The study showed that when these children were afflicted with diarrhea, their microbial systems quickly recovered. The malnourished children hospitalized for diarrhea showed little recovery in the maturity of these systems after treatment with antibiotics and therapeutic foods, as they were lacking in healthy microbes to begin with.

This deficiency likely stems from undernourishment in the first two years of life, a formative period that is essential to developing a healthy brain, immune system and microbial system.

“Perhaps healthy growth and attainment of our full potential requires healthy development of our microbial organ, and also microbes living in other parts of our bodies,” said researcher Jeffrey I. Gordon of Washington University in St. Louis.

Current treatment for undernourishment includes rehydration, a liquid diet of milk suji (whole milk powder, rice powder, sugar and soya oil) and a series of multivitamins and antibiotics to help fight infection. This method has decreased the mortality rate in malnourished children by 47 percent and reduced risk of hypoglycemia.

Researchers in the recent study questioned the long-term results of such treatment protocols and the extent to which they restore normal growth and development. Gordon stated that the current methods should be adjusted to include probiotic supplements, as well as prolonged consumption of therapeutic foods.

“We need to think of food as interacting with this microbial organ,” he said.

Ed Yong, a science writer for Discover Magazine, writes that roughly 1,000 species of bacteria reside in the human bowel, though the makeup of these species varies from person to person. Each individual carries about 160 different bacterial species; it is estimated that 57 exist in the majority of the population. These microbes serve functions such as breaking down complex sugars, producing vitamins and fatty acids and converting chemicals into useful substances.

Factors that impact the development of healthy bacteria include diet, genetics and locale. Research has shown that even the method of delivery can impact the bacterial makeup of an infant; those that are delivered via C-section show less diversity in microbial systems than those delivered naturally. These differences can affect other facets of daily life including susceptibility to disease, predisposition to obesity and the ease with which certain foods are digested.

– Kristen Bezner

Sources: Discover, Science Direct, National Geographic 1, National Geographic 2, Nature
Photo: Chai Counselors

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Malnutrition in Cambodia

After many decades of economic struggle and vicious civil strife Cambodia is slowly working toward becoming an advanced society with a robust economy.

Cambodia is a colorful and richly cultural society that has contributed pricelessly to the Asian and Buddhist realms, among countless others. Despite its encouraging contemporary development, there are still drastically high levels of malnutrition in Cambodia, as in many developing countries.

For those unfamiliar with this nation, some descriptive information may help to place it in perspective. Cambodia is referred to as the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is in Southeast Asia and is located in the southern area of the Indochina Peninsula. It is surrounded by Thailand to the northeast, Laos to the northwest and is largely bordered by Vietnam in its southern and eastern regions. Its national language is Khmer, and its officially recognized religion is Theravada Buddhism.

Cambodia’s incremental progress is and has been significant. Since 2004, its poverty rate has decreased by 5 percent every consecutive three years. Additionally, the population statistics on most “key health indicators” have improved dramatically over recent decades. At the same time, however, sizeable segments of its population still suffer from gross malnutrition, and the population’s average life expectancy is 58 and 64 years for men and women, respectively.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme data, 18 percent of the population lives under the food poverty line. The child population is alarmingly more afflicted; about 40 percent of Cambodian children suffer from chronic malnutrition and stunted development consequent of nutrient deficiency. This is a troublingly high statistic that begs attention and effective, long-term solutions.

Though Cambodia primarily exports high volumes of paddy rice produced at a surplus, the U.N. reports that extremely high poverty rates and inaccessibility to nutritious food are responsible for this widespread malnutrition. Natural disasters such as droughts and occasional flooding additionally contribute unfavorable and sometimes devastating circumstances for residences and agricultural production.

The population’s alarmingly high malnutrition rates are currently being addressed by the U.N., which provides assistance, local food education and attempts to formulate and implement more long-term food security and production infrastructure.

– Ariel Swett

Sources: WFP, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr

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10 Photos of US Foreign Aid in Action

In theory, foreign aid is a great concept that many citizens support in the United States. But how often do we actually get to see our heart-felt donations, activism and support of U.S. foreign aid in action? Here’s to all of you who want to see some concrete results of your efforts. All of the work and investment going into U.S. foreign policy is making a difference, and here are some real life examples to prove it!

 

1. U.S. Actor, Matt Damon, and Haitian Singer, Wyclef Jean, Distribute U.S. Food Aid to Haitian Flood Victims

US Foreign Aid

2. USAID’s Nutrition Programs

US Foreign Aid

3. Haitians Waving to a Departing U.S. Helicopter After Delivering Food and Water to Port au Prince

US Foreign Aid

4. USAID’s Decrease in Maternal Mortality Rates

US Foreign Aid

5. USAID Funds’ Replacement of 187 CDA Tubewell Pumps in Islamabad, Pakistan

US Foreign Aid

6. USAID‘s Female Health Workers

US Foreign Aid

7. USAID Delivers Deworming Medication to Kindergartners in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam

US Foreign Aid

8. USAID’s Increases in Life Expectancy and Decreases in Maternal & Child Mortality Rates

US Foreign Aid

9. Emergency Food Distribution by USAID in Agok, Sudan

US Foreign Aid

10. USAID’s  Tropical Disease Treatments

US Foreign Aid

Photo: USAID Flickr Slideshow , U.N. , Flickr

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5 Facts About the Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014

Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014
On Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers introduced the Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., jointly introduced this legislation, which would end restrictions on international food aid programs.

“More than anything else, the mission of America’s food aid program is to save lives,” Coons said. “Our current system for acquiring and distributing food aid is inefficient and often hurts the very communities it is trying to help.”

1. Feed More People
The reformed food aid legislation would feed about 9 million people around the world.

2. Greater Efficiency
The legislation would make hundreds of millions of dollars more available per year. Currently, the food aid program has restrictions that require food to be produced in the United States rather than purchased locally. It costs more and takes months to reach people in disaster areas. It would also allow U.S. locally or regionally acquired commodities, cash transfers or vouchers to be used for aid.

3. Small Effect on U.S. Agriculture
U.S. food aid contributed merely 0.86 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports between 2002 and 2011 and just 1.41 percent of net farm income.

4. Let USAID Ship Food on Any Available Vessels
Currently, half of food aid must also be transported on U.S. vessels, which takes months and costs more. The cargo preference requirement means that aid is shipped at 46 percent higher than the market rate.

5. End Monetization
“Monetization” is a requirement that says 15 percent of all U.S. donated food must be sold first by aid organizations, which produces cash that funds development projects. Removing this would save 25 cents out of every taxpayer dollar, would feed 800,000 more people and make about $30 million per year more available. Many development supporters argue that monetization upsets local markets.

“At a time when our budget is strained and U.S. resources are limited, Congress needs to find ways to be more efficient and effective with every dollar,” Corker said.

– Colleen Moore

Sources: Reuters, Agri-Pulse
Photo: Africa Green Media

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1,000 Days Campaign in Rwanda 

1,000_days_campaign
Since conflict started in the Democratic Republic of Congo, children have been fleeing the violence to Rwanda and into the hands of another challenge: malnutrition. The state of food security and proper nourishment in Rwandan refugee camps is becoming dire as nearly 44 percent of children under 5 face serious chronic malnutrition.

However, the Rwandan government is making strides to welcome its new residents with open arms and humanitarian aid. Under the command of Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, the Rwandan government launched the “1,000 Days in the Thousand Hills” campaign back in September of 2013 to combat malnutrition in both its refugee camps and its local population. With the help of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), the 1,000 days campaign was implemented first in the Kiziba camp in Western Rwanda, then in all five refugee camps in the country.

The mission of the campaign: combat malnutrition using programs that make populations more self-reliant and educated on proper health. The approach: provide children with the proper nutrients for the first 1,000 days from birth until the child’s second birthday and establish local community efforts to produce more nutritious food.

The 1,000 Days campaign in Rwanda is not unique. In fact, similar programs have been implemented in a variety of other locations including Ethiopia, Indonesia and Guatemala. But what makes Rwanda’s campaign special is its focus on integration. Like all of MIDIMAR’s programs, the 1,000 Days in the Thousand Hills campaign aims to connect the refugee and local populations by using their combined forces to solve mutual problems. All practices used in the local population are being used in refugee camps and vice versa.

What are these practices? As established, the campaign seeks to make populations at risk more self-sufficient while still receiving help to reduce malnutrition. Programs include setting up kitchen gardens and animal breeding programs. At the start of the campaign, 315 kitchen gardens were set up and 151 families received rabbits to breed, eat and sell. The hope is to make refugees and local populations independent with livestock and farming techniques that provide them with greater nutrients.

On top of this, the 1,000 days campaign aims to provide children with the necessary sustenance for healthy development and nutrition from day one until age 2. This allows children to escape malnutrition and stunting of growth and to have better immune systems and brighter futures. The program achieves this goal both by putting more food into the community and educating parents on what counts as fortified and healthy foods, such as vegetables, fruits and milk. In addition, the campaign seeks to spread awareness on the warning signs of malnutrition and the diseases associated with the condition.

All of this culminates in two results: first, it brings children out of risk of malnutrition by providing them with necessary protein from the start. Second, it pulls populations into a state of food security by providing sustainable ways of harvesting good food.

The program is set to end in October of 2016, but many strides towards success can be taken by then. With any luck and lots of hard work, malnutrition will cease to be an insurmountable problem facing refugees in Rwanda.

– Caitlin Thompson

Sources: All Africa, Doctors Without Borders, Ministry of Disaster Management, Relief Web, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Rwanda Ministry of Health, World Vision International, 1000 Days
Photo: Republic of Rwanda Ministry of Health

 

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Hunger in Niger: 5 Things to Know

Hunger in Niger
Niger may not be the first country to spring to mind when you think about hunger in Africa, but the food security situation there is actually among the worst on the continent. Conditions there were especially dire in 2012, when the hunger crisis that stretched across West Africa’s Sahel region made news headlines across the world.

Although the situation has improved within the last several years, there are still approximately 2.5 million people in Niger that lack secure access to food. Here are five facts you should know about hunger in Niger:

 

1. A Problem of Geography

Niger is land-locked, and land-locked into the middle of the Sahara Desert at that. Over 80 percent of the country consists of arid land that is nearly impossible to farm. What arable land that exists is often plagued by extended periods of flooding during Niger’s short rainy season and drought throughout the rest of the year. Farmers are already facing an enormous challenge of climate in simply trying to grow food. However, with few outlets for access to seeds and tools, farmers in Niger fail to make enough food to support even a fraction of Niger’s population.

Fortunately, international organizations are stepping in to increase the resources available to these farmers. Though simply increasing agricultural output is not enough to solve the problem of hunger in Niger, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

 

2. Poverty, Fertility and Their Consequences

Niger is no stranger to poverty; according to the World Bank, “Niger’s per capita income and development indicators are among the worst in the world.” Whether hunger is a cause or an effect of poverty is a complicated question, but there is no doubt that the two are intimately related.

Niger is also home to the highest fertility rate in the world, with each woman on average giving birth to 7.6 children. With so many mouths to feed and limited money to do so, it’s no wonder that so many in Niger go hungry.

 

3. A Struggling Economy

About 80 percent of Niger’s economy is based on agriculture and livestock. How can an economy thrive when it depends on an industry that is suffering? With little capital to work with, hunger in Niger is a problem that is proving difficult to solve from the inside. Niger’s economy is also dependent on the world market for uranium, a natural resource it has in abundance. When uranium prices fall, so does the economy.

 

4. Taking Care of Refugees

The population of Niger is already high, at around 17 million people. Yet with refugees from countries like Mali and Nigeria, which have recently experienced conflict, flooding into the country for the past few years, the population of Niger continues to swell.

With the existing population already struggling to eat enough, how can refugees possibly afford food? Refugees receive a food voucher upon entering Niger, which allows them to purchase U.S. $14 worth of food. Though the voucher may not seem worth very much, refugees prefer it to a standard grain handout because it allows them to customize their diet and keep their families fed while they adjust to life in Niger. The cereal handout traditionally given to refugees in Niger failed to meet human nutritional requirements, so the voucher is a step toward making sure that refugees and their children are properly nourished.

 

5. Why There is Still Hope

The people of Niger have banded together with the help of aid from international organizations to lessen the effects of recent droughts. By removing dead vegetation from lakes, Nigeriens are creating jobs for themselves while at the same time preventing the lakes from flooding land that could be used for farming. The dedication of the people of Niger to preventing the next hunger crisis has captured international attention and drawn donations from around the world. Hunger in Niger is certainly no quick fix, but that has not stopped the Nigeriens from getting started.

– Elise Riley

Sources: WFP1, WFP2, The World Bank, Washington Post, The Guardian, Sahara Conservation, Action Against Hunger
Photo: OneWorld South Asia