Niger Malnutrition - Red Cross Photo Essay
Since 2005, the IFRC -- together with the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad, Ireland, France, Spain and Qatar -- have been working to help Sahelian families regain their dignity by providing them with humanitarian services such as water and sanitation, food assistance, agricultural projects, nutrition centres and healthcare.
In 2010, the worst was avoided -- mainly thanks to humanitarian intervention -- but the situation remains precarious and too many people continue to suffer. Food distributions are just a short-term solution -- hunger has become the norm for the people of the Sahel. A chronic situation, like that of Niger, where half its children suffer from chronic malnutrition cannot be allowed to continue.Attention is often focused on the latest sudden earthquake or tsunami, but the world too needs to remain engaged in the Sahel, and the problems caused by recurrent drought and degraded lands. The combination of general poverty and human vulnerability could result in a breakdown of peace and security in an already insecure region, which may reverse the few development gains that have been made.
And, as in previous crises, it's not just about food. It's about endemic and relentless poverty. This crisis needs to be firmly on the agenda of governmental and humanitarian agencies whose combined actions really can make a difference. We know that the problems are large and complex, but we also have the solutions:
1. effective screening and referral to programmes that provide therapeutic feeding and food assistance for malnourished children and their families;
2. community-based nutrition promotion to support behaviour change campaigns to improve infant and young child feeding practices, and support dietary diversity;
3. long-term efforts to improve food security for vulnerable households: improving farming practices, diversifying livelihoods, and improving access to local and regional markets;
4. equitable access to basic health services.
Niger's crisis goes far beyond what is considered a 'normal' humanitarian situation. What is required is a strong political will and long-term commitment to reverse the norm of hunger in the Sahel.Photos by Julien Goldstein
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Monday, 6 June 2011
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