What is the current situation in terms of access to food for the people of Niger?
Up until July, we have continually questioned the decision taken by the Nigerien government and other aid providers to respond to the crisis by selling food rather than distributing it for free. From mid-July, the increased media coverage–which was late but nevertheless effective–has led to an international aid effort. However, the implementation of food distributions organized by the World Food Program (WFP) has been targeted according to harvest levels, without taking into account the nutritional status of the people concerned. Consequently, they have failed to reach those most in need. As things stand, the Nigerien government, with the support of WFP, is calling for food distributions to end in the beginning of October–two weeks after the beginning of the harvest – so as not to destabilize the market. It is true that an injection of outside food aid could hamper the sale of harvests and could have a negative effect on the resources of Nigerien farmers. But as the UN Secretary-Genera
