Locusts, Food Shortages, Imperil Lives of West Africans
Millions of people in several African countries are facing food shortages because of a locust invasion and heavy drought, Christian relief organizations reported.
Millions of people in several African countries are facing food shortages because of a locust invasion and heavy drought, Christian relief organizations reported.
Christian Aid, along with other groups, has been working in the region with local partners to respond to the shortages.
A locust invasion swept across the the Northern Sahel region in 2004, which destroyed crops in the north African countries of Niger, Senegal, Chat, Mali Mauritania and Burkina Faso. As a result of the shortages annual grain harvest were also greatly reduced.
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In landlocked and desert-like Niger, 2.5 million people are in need of food, with 800,000 children among them. Pledges of aid continue to come up short as the situation worsens. The locust invasion was the worst in 15 years.
"This is why the crisis is now more acute in Niger than in other parts of the Sahel," said Henri Josserand of the UN Food and Agriculture organization, according to a UN report.
"People in affected areas are in critical need of seeds and enough food to carry them through until late October," he added, appealing for an urgent international response.
World Vision reports that 10 percent of the children in the worst affected areas could die, according to BBC news. They say that the international community has acted too late.
A BBC news reporter found one family wandering not knowing where they were going. "I'm wandering like a madman," said the father. "I'm afraid we'll all starve." The family was hundreds of miles away from the neared food distribution point.
Though rain has recently fallen in Niger, it has also come too late, bringing malaria and other diseases.
More than 2.7 million in Mali and Burkina Faso are also facing food shortages.
Christian Aid has been working in Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso to respond to last year's locust invasion and droughts.
Among other activities, the agency is helping organize cereal and seed distribution as well as supporting animal feed centers. It is also helping along with training in small scale agriculture while it trains locals to establish task forces to deal with breakouts of locusts and working with the government to create locust prevention systems.
Although land praparation and planting are underway in Niger, the available number of seeds is limited, according to BBC news. Locusts are a serious threat, though FAO is not expecting such a large number this year.
