Millions Are at Risk in Niger
August 1, 2005
by Pete Winn, associate editor

Drought, locusts combine to destroy crops in world's second-poorest country.
International aid ministries and organizations are working to avert a possible catastrophe in Africa.
More than 800,000 children in the nation of Niger are malnourished and in danger of starving to death over the next few months—in a nation where 3.5 million people are hungry or starving. It's all part of a natural crisis which has left crops and food at dangerously low levels in the North-African country.
Jules Frost, director of emergency response and disaster mitigation for World Vision, said the crisis in Niger is the result of several issues.
"In the last 12 to 18 months," Frost said, "they have suffered from a significant drought, as well as a locust invasion that basically resulted in the decimation of last year's crops."
Local food supplies have run out, government stocks of grain are exhausted and there are not enough seeds to plant for this year's harvest. Twenty percent of the country's inhabitants are already hungry.

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