2005–2006 Niger food crisis
The 2005–2006 Niger food crisis was a severe but localized
Background
The crisis had long been predicted after
Demographic causes
The population of Niger increased more than fivefold between 1950 and 2005, from 2.5 million to 13.5 million.[3] The fertility rate in Niger is the highest in the world at 7.6 children per woman,[4] and the population of the country is projected to increase tenfold in the 21st century to more than 200 million people in 2100.[5]
Crisis
The
Access to food staples became increasingly difficult and severe cases of
The food shortage impacted 3.3 million people —including 800,000 children under age five— in 3,815 villages. Officials estimated cereal deficits at 223,448 tons and livestock feed deficits at 4,642,219 tons.[9][10][11]
Response
Although UN's Food and Agriculture Organization already warned of an upcoming crisis in late 2004,
On January 16, 2006, the UN directed an appeal for US$240 million of food aid for West Africa to feed at least 10 million people affected by the food crisis, with Niger being the worst-affected country.[14]
Media coverage controversy
Several authorities, including the President of Niger at the time, called into the question the veracity of claims made by international media. They argued that, while chronic malnutrition has been issue for populations of Niger, the media erroneously and deliberately portrayed common local dietary habits as signs of widespread famine to appeal to donors' sympathy. On March 3, 2008
See also
- 2006 Horn of Africa food crisis
- Malawian food crisis
- 2010 Sahel drought
References
- ^ FAO/WFP CROP AND FOOD SUPPLY ASSESSMENT MISSION TO NIGER, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 21 December 2004
- ^ "Niger: a famine foretold | Africa Renewal". www.un.org. 15 October 2005. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100". populationpyramid.net.
- ^ "Fertility rate, total (Births per woman) - Niger | Data". World Bank.
- ^ "Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100". populationpyramid.net.
- ^ "Food crisis looming in Mali, Mauritania, Niger". afrol News. 20 June 2005.
- ^ "Millions face hunger in West Africa, urgent aid needed, UN food agency warns". UN News. 2005-06-20. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Millions face hunger in West Africa, urgent aid needed, UN food agency warns". UN News. 2005-06-20. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Niger food crisis increases child deaths". UNICEF. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Niger - Background to a food crisis - IFRC". www.ifrc.org. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Sahel: surviving the lean season | Africa Renewal". www.un.org. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ FAO/WFP CROP AND FOOD SUPPLY ASSESSMENT MISSION TO NIGER, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 21 December 2004
- ^ How many dying babies make a famine? BBC News. 10 August 2005
- ^ "Humanitarian | Thomson Reuters Foundation News".
- ^ [1] Archived 2008-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Sultbløffen (The Famine Scam) awarded third place Monte Carlo TV festival of 2008
- ^ BBC statement to SVT regarding 2005 Niger reports, The Local, 19 Nov 2008.
- ^ BBC in dispute with Norway's TV2. The Guardian. 1 July 2008
External links
- Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian, August 1, 2005, "Plenty of food - yet the poor are starving: The two faces of Niger"
- NIGER: AN EVIDENCE BASE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT CRISIS, (PDF) Famine Early Warning Systems Network, 29 July 2005
- Updated news links from ReliefWeb
- USAID Assistance to Niger/Sahel - Information on relief efforts and ongoing bilateral assistance from the United States Agency for International Development
- Egeland accused of bluffing about starvation
- http://www.unicef.org/media/media_27620.html
- UN chief tours impoverished Niger, BBC News, 23 August 2005
- The Economist: Starving for the cameras, Destitution not dearth, The worst is over
- SOS Children Appeal
- Media pressured over food crisis - IFEX
- Anuradha Mittal and Frederic Mousseau, "Sahel: A Prisoner of Starvation? A Case Study of the 2005 Food Crisis in Niger" [PDF file], The Oakland Institute, October 31, 2006.
- TV2, The Famine Scam