Food shortages in Niger have forced hungry country-dwellers to beg for sustenance in the capital, Niamey. Some 7.8 million West Africans will face food shortages in the coming year, and some say aid organizations are not yet doing enough.
Aid is not reaching all displaced Haitians
The struggle that residents of Port-au-Prince’s Avenue Poupelard face to rebuild their lives in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake points to the limitations in government and aid agency efforts to help Haiti’s population recover. Residents complain that the government offered little aid and failed to deliver on the few promises it did make, while aid agency efforts to provide services like free food were stymied by corrupt local businessmen.
Arbour lets criticisms fly in new role
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour is utilizing the relative freedom of working outside the government or United Nations system to criticize countries for short-sighted international policies. As president of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, she’s able to sound off on governmental abuses — and indifference — around the globe.
Africa making “dramatic” headway against malaria
Malaria infections are dropping across Africa in response to the World Health Organization’s Roll Back Malaria program, according to Rob Newman, director of the WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. U.S. officials announced plans to focus part of that country’s Global Health Initiative on reaching 450 million women and children in sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of halving malaria rates among the group.
Female farmers are critical to reducing developing world hunger
Increased funding and support for women tending small farms in the developing world is key to meeting Millennium Development Goals related to hunger and nutrition, ActionAid says in a new report. Women are the majority of small farmers in developing countries but are largely ignored by policymakers, the report warns.