Annan arrives in Niger to assess humanitarian needs following drought, locusts
Secretary-General Kofi Annan began a two-day visit to Niger today to see first-hand United Nations efforts to help the people of one of the world's poorest countries face the challenges of drought, desertification and the recent locust plague that have caused severe food shortages and put nearly 3 million people at risk.
Mr. Annan touched down in the southern town of Zinder, located in one of the hardest-hit regions and about 750 kilometres east of the capital Niamey, where he was welcomed by Niger’s President, Mamadou Tandja.
“I have come here to see for myself what is happening so that I can discuss with the President and the Government what we can do together to improve the situation not only in the short term, but also in the long run,” he told reporters.
Accompanied by his wife Nane, he visited the National Hospital of Zinder and a feeding centre run by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF), both places crowded with malnourished children, most of them under five years old, and mothers. He thanked MSF for the good work it is performing.
He also saw cereal banks and fertilizer cooperatives in the village of Madera.
The Secretary-General then travelled to Niamey for meetings with the UN country team. He will also visit a hospital, a feeding centre and speak to UN and other aid workers.
UN agencies have already launched a nearly $81 million appeal to tackle the situation arising from drought and the worst invasion of crop-devouring locusts in 15 years, aiming to get food assistance to all at-risk areas to avoid an increase in hunger among the 2.65 million people most at risk.
Both the Government of Niger and UN agencies raised the alarm about a looming crisis last November, but international donor response only gained momentum last month after images of malnourished children began appearing on television around the world.
“Only now has the world at last woken up to the reality that thousands of children in Niger could soon die,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland wrote in an opinion piece two weeks ago. “Once again, it has taken horrific images of starving children to do so.
“This crisis could have been averted had political will and resources been available early on. We could have saved children from malnourishment for as little as $1 per child per day. Now it will cost many times more. Aid agencies are racing against time to save lives. But they may be too late, especially for the young children,” he said.
“Let us learn from the tragedy in Niger. Early funding and early action save lives and help prevent a deadly spiral of disease, hunger and displacement from spinning out of control,” he added, noting that in recent years nearly half of all global humanitarian funding has come in the last quarter of the year.
“These delays are deadly. So, too, is the absence of a predictable pool of money to draw upon immediately in an emergency,” he declared, urging support Mr. Annan’s proposal for a 10-fold increase in UN emergency funds to $500 million to enable aid agencies to jump-start operations.