Food Crisis Threatens Millions in Niger
尼日尔三百万人面临粮食危机
More than three million people in Niger are at risk of severe food shortages in what could be a looming humanitarian crisis, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socieites West Africa branch.
尼日尔超过三百万人面临严重的食物短缺,根据国际红十字会红新月会西非分部的调查显示,这可能成为人道主义危机。
Per Becker, the Regional Disaster Risk Managment Coordinator for the Red Cross’ Dakar office, said the situation is expected to get worse. “The numbers of people that we are expecting being malnourished is just increasing all the time," he said. "We are now seeing over three million people facing hunger and food insecurity for this lean period. The lean period is mainly between April and August, but this year it comes early because of the failed harvests they’ve had.”
红十字会达喀尔办公室区域灾害风险管理协调员珀尔?贝克表示情况可能会变得更糟。“许多人被营养不良困扰,而这一人数一直在增加,”他说道。“我们现在看到超过三百万人面临饥饿和粮食短缺问题。援助将会在4月和8月期间,但今年收成不好,他们收获的仅仅是饥饿。”
Erratic rainfall and attacks from insects have contributed to the worsening situation, Becker added. Socio-economic factors such as rising costs of food also play a big role in malnutrition. “Even if you have sufficient food production in the country, some families cannot afford it when the food prices increase 25-30 percent.”
飘忽不定的降雨和昆虫灾害也促进了情况不断恶化，贝克补充道。食品价格上升这样的经济因素也对人们营养不良扮演了至关重要的角色。“即使这个国家有足够的粮食生产,但食品价格增长25%到30%,无奈一些家庭仍然负担不起。”
Catholic Relief Services Director of Emergency Operations, Bill Canny, was recently in the Niger towns of Tolkobey and Sangare, where he visited with families to get their feedback on the situation. He recalled the story of one father:
天主教救援服务紧急救助主任比尔?科内最近辗转于尼日尔的两个城市Tolkobey和Sangare,在那里他拜访家庭得到他们对于当前情况的反馈。他回想起一位父亲的故事:
Nomads look on as hungry cattle are fed in a local market in Dakoro, Niger (File Photo).
“He was probably about 45 years old, and he was in the village of Tolkobey, and he said that this year his family with their small plots was able to harvest nothing," said Canny. "What he does, every year, even when they do harvest, is go to Nigeria, where he works as a dock worker. Every year, last year particularly, he was able to send back a sack of millet a month. Because of the insecurity in the region, in Nigeria, he couldn’t go to Northern Nigeria - now, he’s unable to leave and use that as a fall back for his family."
“他大概45岁,住在Tolkobey的村庄,他表示,今年他一家根本没指望自己的小块土地能有什么收获。”科内说道。“他所做的,甚至他们每年有收获,他们也还是会去尼日利亚,在那里他是一名船坞工人。每年,尤其是去年,他还能每月寄回一袋谷子。但发生这种情况,在尼日利亚,他不能去尼日利亚北部,现在,他已经无法以此做为依靠扛起一个家。”
Canny added that next harvest season hopefully cash-for-work and seed distributions can help people get back on their feet, but in the immediate future short-term needs of many in Niger are pressing.
科内补充道下一个收获季节希望可以分发粮食和种子以帮助人们回到以前的生活,但那是在不久的将来,在尼日尔的现阶段需要仍然迫在眉睫。
“In the short-term in order to try and keep them in place, we need to work with the government and other NGOs to get some subsidized foods into the areas,” said Becker.
“在短期内为了尽量救助更多人,我们需要与政府和其他非政府组织合作,获得一些补贴食品救济人民。”贝克说道。
The Red Cross added that besides Niger – Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and areas of Senegal are also at risk of a measure food crisis if measures are not taken.
红十字会表示如果不采取措施,除了尼日尔外,查德、马里、毛利塔尼亚、布基纳法索和塞内加尔等地区也面临着同样的粮食危机风险。 |