Niger famine crisis 'at 11th hour What Can ATS Do To help?

Niger is suffering from hunger and starvation. The United Nations has called the situation there as "an acute humanitarian crisis". Niger has been suffering from droughts and even a locus plague last year that have destroyed their crops and any chance that they could feed or care for themselves. Of the nearly 2 and a half million people who are on the brink of starvation, nearly 800,000 of them are children. From a report at one of the aid facilities last week, 14 of the 61 children died while being treated for their malnutrition!

The Countries of the Western World as well as the G8 have failed to deliver the aid that they have promised! Nick England of Oxfam states that there is not only a slow response from the west and the G8 but there is also a gulf between what aid they have promised and what has actually been delivered.




There is no reason why the world that we live in today that this should be happening. Instead of the world squandering it's monies on weapons to take more lives or buying that big sceen plasma tv, we should be helping to feed these people. Helping them re-till the land. Create waterways to provide drinking water as well as water for their crops.
Maybe, with large membership of the ATS whose members are from around the world can do something to help. Any thoughts Comments on just what we can do to help?

Related News Links:
www.alertnet.org
www.worldvision.ca
www.alertnet.org
www.meritcare.com

[edit on 20-7-2005 by kenshiro2012]


[edit on 20-7-2005 by kenshiro2012]

World Vision Canada is named all over the Internet as a reputable charity. This is their page on Niger. There's a link at the bottom to make a credit card donation. I will be doing so today.

Thanks to donations from the World Food Programme, your gift today will multiply 7 times to rush lifesaving food to hungry, malnourished children.

And write your Congressional Representative and Senators!

[edit on 20-7-2005 by Benevolent Heretic]

two critical question:-

1) is Niger producing oil?

2) will there be a near future discovery of oil in Niger?

low taste I know...

but...

the truth hurts

Well, if you listen to some people on here, we should let Africa sort themselves out as our aid will be wasted.

Si tand think about how we as civilized nations go about our business, running water, eating food, using computers as we are now. However cliched and repetitive it sounds, we have to put it in perspective. Our culture has come to the point where a person will readily pour a drink down the drain because it has got some dust or dirt in it, while in the third world it is quite literally the opposite, with people drinking whatever muddy filth they can to try and stay alive. If everyone was to suddenly realise our decadence is ridiculous, the third world might have a chance.

But too many people think we have earned our priveleges. I even read someone post 'It's their own fault for staying in such a bad place, they should move north like us" or words to that effect. Not taking into consideration that we are the greediest bunch of bastards ever, sitting here with our constantly running cold, clean water and more or less endless supply of food. "What could we do even if we wanted to? It's pointless to mull, so lets enjoy our coke, theres nothing to be done". Our civilzation is far too greedy to give up even the slightest of it's luxuries (You just know thered be riots if the government outlawed the use of hose-pipes forever, even though it makes such a patheticly minscule effect on our lives, people will riot for their luxuries). It probably IS too late for the third world, we are all moulded into consumer society, it would take a major revolution, both physically and mentally, to even begin to balance out the worlds wealth.

How could we, western civilzation as a whole, help Africa if we are not willing to believe that we have too much luxury.

I am more interested in
1) raising awareness of the issue here on ATS
2) discussing if there were something that ATS members can do to help get the word out of the tragedy.
3) should we even try?

Originally posted by kenshiro2012
1) raising awareness of the issue here on ATS

Talk to the admin/mods. See if they have any ideas. Maybe make a donation button? Maybe they could do a mass post and post your thread on every relevant board?

3) should we even try?

If you feel passionate about something and you decide not to try, then you might as well just get a bowl of popcorn and curl up in front of the TV and watch the world disintigrate.

Too few people even have passion in their lives anymore except to hate or fear. Those come all too easy these days.

How do you want to feel? That you did your best to make a terrible situation better (even if it fails) or that you didn't try because you didn't think it would work?

News update on this
Rice: U.S. to Increase Grants for Africa

DAKAR, Senegal Jul 20, 2005 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, emphasizing the need for worldwide economic aid to developing African nations, on Wednesday announced a modest increase in U.S. grants aimed at helping West African countries export more goods.
Rice, on a two-day trip that will include a tour of a refugee camp in Sudan's troubled Darfur province, told delegates at a U.S.-Africa trade conference that the additional $1 million in U.S. grants would help West African nations improve transportation safety and infrastructure to enhance international trade.

Problem that I have, what is this going to do to help those who are starving?

It also hurts to think that "P.Diddy" could wipe his bumcheeks with 1 milion dollars. It's not even serious money anymore, there are middle class couples sipping tea and eating scones wondering wether to spend more than that on a new house in the sun.

I have stated before that if you want your money to go to the people and not the corrupt dictators of these African nations (like the original Live8 did:barf, donate your money to World Bank if you can or Red Cross, or a charity associated with WB. I seem to recall reading something of locust destroying crops in Africa, but can't recall reading in articles previous to the one on ATS stating Niger's mass famine concern. Why is this coming up at the last minute?

web.worldbank.org...:2038233
8~menuPK:382456~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:382450,00.html

Washington, DC, March 7, 2005 – The World Bank today announced that the ambassadors of seven African countries signed a series of agreements with the Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) for the Africa Emergency Locust Project.
Beneficiary countries are Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.

web.worldbank.org...:20204833
~menuPK:382456~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:382450,00.html

Washington DC, May 20, 2004 – The World Bank Board of Directors today agreed that the Bank will manage the implementation of the Niger River Basin Water and Environmental Management Project with a US$13 million grant from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
The project’s objective is to strengthen capacities at all levels – local, municipal, national, regional and institutional – within the nine member countries of the Niger Basin Authority (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria) - in the implementation of a joint framework for the sustainable development of the land and water resources of the basin.

As of February 2005, the World Bank had approved 65 IDA credits and grants for Niger for a total amount of approximately US$1.28 billion.