LWR Head Calls for Solution to Niger Food Crisis
LWR President Kathryn Wolford returned last Wednesday from her weeklong trip to Niger, which went from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6. During this period, Wolford observed the food crisis in Niger and how its joint relief programs were distributing the food.
A solution to the Niger food crisis must occur to avoid future recurrences, Lutheran World Relief’s (LWR) president concluded after her week-long visit to Niger.
LWR President Kathryn Wolford returned last Wednesday from her weeklong trip to Niger, which went from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6. During this period, Wolford observed the food crisis in Niger and how its joint relief programs were distributing the food. In an effort to deliver food rations to villages most gravely affected by the food crisis, LWR had partnered with Action by Churches Together (ACT), the global alliance of churches and related agencies.
"I am pleased to report that due to our incredible partners, our staff and our supporters, LWR was among the first aid agencies to get food distributed to severely affected communities in Niger," said Wolford in a statement released on Sept. 7.
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"I was incredibly impressed with our partners' ability to distribute food in ways that respected the dignity of the people," she added.
"To keep the process transparent and to make sure the distributions are fair, those distributing the food explained the measures they were using and then counted those measures out loud as they filled each family's ration."
Yet the LWR head also made sure to remind her audience that steps must be taken quickly in order to avoid another food crisis in Niger.
“It's clear that we need to focus a great deal of energy and effort to address the natural and manmade forces that, left alone, will only continue the cycle of poverty and the possibility for starvation," she said.
"Even as we answer today's urgent need for food distribution, we are working with the partners and communities on ways to rebuild their assets and ability to withstand future droughts and fluctuations in market prices, and the resulting hunger these generate."
Niger’s food crisis resulted from a combination of locust swarms and famine in the last year; affecting approximately 3.5 million people – 800,000 of which are children. According to United Nation Development Program’s 2004 Human Development Report, among the poorest nations, Niger ranks 176 out of 177 countries.
LWR and ACT are currently continuing to supply food rations in Niger as a short-term plan while working with other organizations to develop a long term strategy to prevent future food crisis from reoccurring.
