Niger

Food distribution is one part of NGO strategy to help Nigeriens through crisis times such as the 2010 food shortage.

From small clinics like the World Vision clinic near Dakoro in eastern Niger to larger hospitals like Galmi, the ill effects of malnutrition color healthcare routines and treatments.

In Niger, malnutrition exacerbates public health challenges, putting an overwhelming strain on limited resources.

Ineffective foreign aid and government corruption hinder progress in alleviating Niger's food crisis.

A flooded dam isolates a Nigerian village, stunting economic development for an entire decade.

Famines often occur during times of drought, but their causes go much deeper than a lack of rain. With East Africa now facing widespread hunger, we look back at a major food crisis that struck the Western African nation of Niger in 2005. Reporter David Hecht examines the roots of that crisis and finds some of them stretching across Niger’s border, to the neighboring country of Nigeria.

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Droughts and floods can cause food crises. But so can politics and economics. Reporter David Hecht examines the roots of the 2005 food crisis in the West African nation of Niger and why so many children starved to death despite an adequate harvest.

Listen to this report.