The cries pouring out of Niger are falling on deaf ears just as with past crises in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sudan.
The Famine in Ethiopia has spread to Niger in the last year and aid groups are requesting more support for the second poorest country in the world.
Children are dying from malnutrition and lack of medical assistance and women are turning to prostitution to earn extra money. What is going on?
The people working are not making enough, which is why many women have turned to prostitution, according to the UN.
Most of the people in Niger depend on the seasonal harvest for their food, which has been seriously depleted by a locust infestation. The price of food has increased.
According to the UN’s World Food Program, its food aid has reached 1.2 million people, but recent surveys have revealed that the mortality rates have risen. The WFP has only received $33.6 million of the $57.6 million that it was seeking from the U.S. to aid Niger.
However, the situation appears the same, an indication of how little the world cares about Africa.
The response to aid has been rather slow, which plays a major role in Niger’s situation.
I commend the U.S. for helping in its own time of crisis, but what about the rest of the world?
I wish the world would realize that the people of Africa are human beings desperately in need of help.
The locust infestation is expected to deteriorate over the next few weeks, so the U.N. has decided to stop sending aid to Niger.
Getting other countries to send help to Africa seems to be like pulling teeth.
For more information on aiding famine-stricken areas visit www.worldvision.org or www.planusa.org
Beverly Mount is a senior Public Relations student from Tallahassee. She can be reached at Beverly1.Mount@famu.edu