Larvatus Prodeo

Did anyone else catch the news on SBS last night about the famine in Niger? It was utterly heart-breaking, and I’m ashamed to admit I had no idea that this was occuring. Again.

BBC News reports that some 3.6 million people are facing severe food shortages in the country, where a drought and then late-breaking rains have caused food production to grind to a halt. Niger is a desert country where arable land is limited and most of the country’s population barely subsists in a good year, let alone during drought.

As usual, the young suffer the most. CNN reports that aid agency Oxfam suggests that up to one million children are at risk of dying of starvation in the coming months.

Last night’s story on SBS featured one small child, his skin peeling away from his body, ulcerated and infected. He was whimpering in pain, and was almost certainly going to die. Children, like this boy, are starving to death in aid centres because they are too far gone to eat or drink.

SBS reported that the government has donated $2 million in aid already. If you want to do something, Oxfam and World Vision are both good places to start.

I’ve included the transcript from the SBS report as well those who missed it.

3 MILLION FACING STARVATION IN NIGER

The Federal Government today donated $2 million of emergency food aid to Niger. More than 3 million people are facing starvation in the desperately poor West African country. Aid has begun to reach the starving - a Red Cross team distributed food to those in Maradi, one of the worst-affected areas.

From miles around, they’d heard food had arrived at last and the masses came to be fed - the famished far beyond caring about the indignity that all this brings with it. There was a scramble. Some have been months without a full meal. Everyone knew there was only enough food here for a few thousand. The crowds were held back. All these people have been told that only the absolutely most needy can stay here to get some food aid and the rest have been told they have to go home, so people are getting very excited. There’s a sense of exhilaration, but also a sense of great desperation that at last some help has come, but not enough for all.

Umima got food today. She’s three months old and was born into this famine. Women arrive in the feeding centres here exhausted after life-threatening treks, with their children like this. Aminu, who we filmed with his terrible sores last week, has now been moved into intensive care. His body can’t fight his infections. Fatima’s body has stopped absorbing water. She has parasites in her mouth and can’t eat. But we also found Amina, one of the first children we met here, now walking. A few days food can turn children around - that is, if they get here.

We came across a group of nomads, destitute and starving. They had walked hundreds of miles searching for food - all for nothing. In desperation, they had begun to eat this - the rotting meat from the carcasses of their dead cattle.

MAN (TRANSLATION): Look at us - we’re all starving. Three of our children and three adults have died in the last few weeks. Look at my family - they are too weak to even move.

“Forgive me, God, for weaping,” he said. “I can’t feed my family. I have nothing.” Aya’s small son starved to death two weeks ago.