A girl carries water from a well in the village of Synthiane Ndiakri, Mauritania
Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Susana Vera, www.Trust.org
In response to a devastating food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa, a shipment of water purification sachets has been shipped to Niger, to be followed by a new delivery of urgently needed medical aid being readied for shipment to the country.
These shipments are the most recent in a series of aid deliveries aimed at reducing the level of human suffering amid the escalating Sahel crisis.
Drought and internal conflict have caused critical food shortages in the region, which spans Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Senegal. Armed conflict in Mali has forced more than 59,000 people to flee to Niger, placing new stress on the country’s scarce resources.
Six million people in Niger – nearly one-third of its population—are affected by the food shortages. Children under the age of five are especially vulnerable, with nearly 400,000 children in the region facing severe acute malnutrition. A recent cholera outbreak along the Niger River has worsened the risk of disease for countless children and adults with immune systems already weakened by malnutrition.
The new aid deliveries will help partners on the ground continue to save lives:
- Water purification to help 40,000 people for 3 months: 1.1 million units of Proctor & Gamble’s PUR sachets are being delivered to our partner for distribution in camps and communities in Western Niger. Access to clean water remains a challenge for families living in the drought-ravaged south and remote north of the country. Water treated with the PUR sachets greatly reduces the risk of cholera and other diarrheal diseases.
- Medicines to treat 15,000 people: An Emergency Medical Module, including crucial antibiotics, medicines and supplies will help medical teams deliver primary health care to 15,000 sick and injured people living in camps and communities where access to care is dangerously scarce.
AmeriCares has a long history of delivering aid to help people affected by drought and food insecurity. Earlier in 2012, AmeriCares delivered water purification and medical aid to Mali in response to the crisis in the Sahel. In 2011, AmeriCares launched a large scale response to drought and famine in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, delivering more than $2 million in aid, including nutritional supplements, medicines, water purification tablets, and medical supplies. Our aid deliveries to Niger began in 1986 -- learn more about our work in the country here.
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