The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
July 27, 2010

WFP: 8 Million Need Food Aid in Niger Due to Severe Drought
-----------------------------------------------------------



The World Food Programme said it is massively scaling up its food
assistance operation in the West African nation of Niger, which is
facing a severe drought. The agency is hoping to feed up to eight
million people, many of whom have lost crops and livestock due to the
drought. WFP executive director Josette Sheeran visited Niger on a
fact-finding mission last week

Josette Sheeran: “We’re particularly worried about the children, and
it’s why I’ve come to the center to really see the situation of the
children, because their nutrition status is deteriorating very rapidly.
And we’re seeing a doubling of acute malnutrition, almost overnight
here, as we enter the lean season and the very difficult time. So, for
the next six weeks, we really need the world to respond, to support the
people of Niger, to make sure the children have adequate nutrition in
their diet, and we’re really ramping up to do that.”



.