'Half of Niger's population hungry'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138851§ionid=351020506


Niger is facing the worst hunger crisis in its history, with almost half of the population (or 7.3 million people) in desperate need of food, the UN's World Food (WFP) Program says.

The WFP says 17 percent of the African nation's children, or one in five, are acutely malnourished.

The charity Helen Keller International (HKI) has accused the international community of failing to respond effectively to repeated appeals for help for Niger.

HKI's Africa director, Shawn Baker, stated, "Famine is a very loaded word. But I think if you look in terms of the number of children affected, the way the livestock have been decimated, and the population movements that were seen earlier in the year, you certainly could consider a famine situation," reported BBC.

The UN reported that more than 67,000 people lost their homes after severe rains in the past week. The River Niger, the 3rd largest river in Africa, reached its highest level for 80 years, said the regional river authority, the ABN.

Not only are many village people going short of food, but their livestock, which are their only real assets, have died off.