[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1706-E1707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE CRISIS IN NIGER--WE STILL HAVE NOT LEARNED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw attention to the crisis 
taking place now in the nation of Niger. Niger is currently facing one 
ofthe worst hunger crises in its history following severe drought and 
the country's worst locust invasion in 15 years.
  The World Food Program maintains that 3.6 million of Niger's 11.5 
million people face food shortages, while 2.5 million are on the brink 
of starvation. Some families are trying to survive by eating leaves and 
wild roots. The most vulnerable are young children, with 800,000 ``at 
risk'', according to WFP. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reports that 
10-15 are dying every week.
  The United Nations' initial efforts to address the food crisis have 
been severely hindered by the slow response of the international 
community. It first alerted the international community to Niger's food 
shortages in November 2004. Subsequent appeals in March and May were 
both left unfulfilled. By July 2005 its $30.7 million appeal had still 
not been fully funded. Government officials in Niger and international 
aid workers say a slow response from donor countries to months of 
appeals has allowed the situation to spiral to emergency status.
  Recent images coming from Niger over the last few days, along with 
increased calls from media and aid groups, has elicited an 
international response. Desperately needed food aid is now starting to 
get into the hands of the people, but more is needed. The U.S. 
announced on Tuesday, that it would be sending $7 million of food 
related assistance to the region, in addition to $1.6 million in 
emergency assistance it gave in May, and $4.6 million in overall 2005 
assistance.
  While this is welcomed, the slow pace of the response is cause for 
concern, especially after the Bush Administration announced in June 
that it would allocate $674.4 million in emergency food aid to Africa 
in 2005. Aid experts have asserted that the cost per person of 
addressing the Niger crisis has increased nearly 100 fold because of 
the delay in assistance.
  Unfortunately, the situation in Niger had to deteriorate to a point 
where the world was again seeing emaciated children on the brink of 
death before it acted. This simply cannot continue to happen if we are 
to end the unnecessary occurrence of famine. Indeed, leaders in the 
field of humanitarian assistance are asking for a shift in the way that 
the world responds to such challenges.
  A July 26th article in USA Today entitled ``Aid Workers Say Niger 
Crisis Illustrates Need For Reform'', includes the opinions of Clare 
Godfrey, head of humanitarian advocacy for the aid group Oxfam.
  Ms. Godfrey argues that the United Nations should establish a $1 
billion emergency famine relief fund to quickly respond to potential 
famine crises at the very first signs of trouble. Such a system would 
be much more cost effective, and prevent the unnecessary loss of life 
that we have seen in Niger. Ms. Godfrey further argues that such a 
mechanism could be agreed to at the upcoming U.N. Summit in September.
  One could also argue that the famine fund approach may be a more 
efficient use of the $674.4 million in African emergency food aid which 
President Bush pledged in June. All one can say for sure is that the 
current international response to famine crises is inadequate--the 
people of Niger can attest to that.

                    [From USA Today, July 26, 2005]

        Aid Workers Say Niger Crisis Illustrates Need for Reform

                          (By Francis Temman)

       London--Repeated U.N. appeals for money for Niger to save 
     starving children were not answered until the situation 
     became desperate, showing why the world needs to change the 
     way it responds to humanitarian crises, aid workers say.
       Donations have jumped dramatically in the last week because 
     of increased media attention and TV images of the famine, 
     U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland has said.
       Mike Kiernan, a spokesman for Save the Children USA, said 
     children are especially vulnerable when food is in short 
     supply, so the world must respond quickly.
       ``We believe that governments and the United Nations must 
     and can do more to help protect children in every stage of a 
     humanitarian esponse,'' Kiernan said Tuesday.
       A key, he said, was mobilizing public opinion. He said Save 
     the Children had seen an extraordinary response from 
     Americans to appsals made on its behalf by actor Brad Pitt 
     for another African country, Ethiopia.
       John O'Shea, chief executive of the Irish aid agency Goal, 
     said one way of shocking the world into action might be for 
     the United Nations to declare itself incapable of responding.
       He said the international community too often sits back and 
     expects the United Nations to act as its ``fire brigade''--
     which ``it isn't.''
       ``It's a collection of organizations, some good, some 
     reasonably good, some bureaucratic, some full of corruption, 
     some wasteful,'' O'Shea said. ``The bottom line is they are 
     not doing the job.''
       The United Nations first appealed for help for Niger in 
     November and got almost no response. A March appeal for $16 
     million got about $1 million. A May 25 plea for $30.7 million 
     has received $7.6 million--about 25 percent of the amount 
     requested'' U.N. officials say.
       The British aid agency Oxfam said the United Nations should 
     instead have a $1 billion emergency fund to draw on when it 
     sees situations like the one in Niger developing.
       Oxfam said the emergency fund should be adopted at a summit 
     in September at which U.N. states are to consider proposed 
     reforms.
       ``It's a real opportunity to change things around . . . how 
     the world responds to crises like Niger,'' Clare Godfrey, 
     Oxfam's head of humanitarian advocacy, said in an interview.
       If the fund had been in place in November when the U.N. 
     first pleaded for help for Niger, the money could have been 
     drawn from it immediately, Godfrey said.
       Hilary Benn, Britain's Cabinet minister for international 
     aid, proposed such a fund last year, Godfrey said.
       ``The Nigers of the world won't happen again if there's 
     commitment behind the rhetoric,'' Godfrey said.

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