"THE LOCUSTS invaded at 4 p.m. At first, the villagers used the traditional
methods of fire and shouting, but it didn't work, and we were very afraid."
Hama Ongoiba from Bandiagara, a remote desert parish in Mali, in West
Africa, remembers locusts "breaking off branches as they passed through". He
says that nearly all the harvest was destroyed in 48 hours - millet, sorghum,
vegetables, and peanuts.
"After the disaster, 90 per cent of the young people over 15 fled, hoping to
find somewhere else to work and make money. Those who stayed have gone to other
villages, where the harvest has not been destroyed, to help them with the
harvest and return to us with what food and money they can bring. So far, we
have received no help from the government - only words and promises."
Christian Aid is among the organisations addressing the problem.
Twenty-eight new teams in the Bandiagara area are being taught to protect crops
from future locust attacks. People are being taught how to collect and bury
locust eggs, to prevent them from hatching and flying away. The Christian Aid
partner organisation Action for Human Promotion then gives millet in exchange
for the burial of eggs.
Christian Aid is one of the ten agencies from the Disasters Emergency
Committee (DEC), which are working on the Niger Appeal. This targets four
countries in West Africa that are among the poorest in the world - Niger, Mali,
Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. Last week, the DEC thanked the British public for
its fast response to its Niger Crisis Appeal, which has so far raised £17
million.
"We are delighted to see that people have once again responded generously to
a vitally important appeal," said the DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley.
"Concerns are often raised about the fear of donor fatigue, particularly
following on from the very recent tsunami tragedy, but families across the UK
have once again proved that they want to and can help."
The food shortage is affecting nearly eight million people. Thousands of
children are severely malnourished, and many are believed to have died already.
Niger is the worst affected, with up to 2.5 million of its population of 12
million estimated to be at risk of severe hunger. The crisis has been
developing since last August, when a first massive locust invasion swept the
area during the growing season, and destroyed the harvest. This, combined with
severe drought, has left the population with little food.
Some of the DEC agencies have begun immediately with food distribution.
There are three types of distribution, setting up centres in tents.
Three British Red Cross flights have delivered food for 23,000 malnourished
children. Islamic Relief has distributed 108 tonnes of food aid. CARE
International is donating about 11,000 tonnes of food; and Concern has
established a nutrition programme that will treat 300 children every day.
Animals are also suffering from the food shortages: cattle carcasses can be
seen lying on the ground. Oxfam has a de-stocking scheme, which is targeting
130,000 people. This involves buying weak cattle, killing them, and employing
people to dry and cure the flesh, which can be used for food.
DEC agencies are hoping to prevent the diseases that arise from a lack of
food, such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea. Save the Children has sent a
plane carrying emergency health kits, sachets of rehydrating salts for
dehydrated children, mosquito nets, malaria-testing kits, and Vitamin A tablets
for malnourished children and pregnant women.
ActionAid is trying to prevent future crises by investigating early-warning
systems that can alert people to disaster. World Vision is developing market
gardens to improve production during the dry season.
"Money raised is already saving lives of those facing hunger in Niger, Mali,
Mauritania, and Burkina Faso," Mr Gormley said. "We want to encourage people to
continue to donate. Sadly, the need in West Africa is huge."
Agency calls for preventative action
The Christian development agency Tearfund has called on governments and
donors to do more to prevent problems from escalating in the first place.
Its disaster-management director, Marcus Oxley, spoke last week of the DEC's
Niger appeal: "We must recognise that lives could have been saved if simple,
cost-effective measures had been put in place to protect vulnerable
communities. Much more needs to be done to address the root causes of poverty,
which make the world's poorest countries so vulnerable when disasters occur."
Tearfund stresses the need to cancel debt repayments, deliver more and
better aid, and make trade work for the poor.
Donations to the DEC Niger Crisis Appeal can be made at
www.dec.org.uk
(phone 0870 60 60 900), or at banks and post offices.