Concern Worldwide

A devastating food crisis is unfolding in the west African country of Niger which is the poorest, least developed country on earth. 50% of the country’s 15million people are now vulnerable to food shortages caused by the failed rains and widespread crop failures of 2009.

Concern has been working in Niger for a number of years and our staff on the ground have seen for themselves the terrible effects of the 2009 crop failures. They have seen how villages and communities had been totally deserted and emptied because of crop failure. And how there have been large rates of migration out of villages by people with no access to food, abandoning homes in search of work in urban areas.

The situation is so bad that the government of Niger has appealed to the international community for urgent help and Concern is there now and helping those most in need.

Concern ’s response

Concern doesn’t just want to treat malnutrition once it’s happened in Niger – we want to try and stop it in its tracks. That’s why in the next few months we’ll be:

• Using mobile phones to transfer emergency cash grants to 2,500 families giving them the freedom to spend the money on essential items for their families.

• Distributing seeds and fertilizer to 3,000 households to help replace the failed crops and prevent future food shortages.

• Providing nutritional support to children under 5 years old and pregnant women who are most at risk of malnutrition.

The people we’re helping

In the next few months Concern’s emergency programme will help over 80,000 people in Niger— people just like Asama Masala.

25 year old Asama lives in Indire in the Tahoua ragion of southwestern Niger where Concern estimates that the global acute malnutrition rate is at 13% – well above the 10% rate that signifies a nutrition emergency.

With six children to feed, Asama found life extremely tough at the start of 2010. A lack of pasture and the catastrophic harvest in 2009 left her with very little food for her family.

But the emergency cash transfer she received from Concern has made a real difference. She recalls “The help is a big relief as it will allow me to buy us necessary things like food for my children.  Thank you for your help, because we have never received any help like this in the past.  My husband is also gone abroad

to find work, so there is no one to help me here.”

How you can help

By purchasing a Concern gift online today you can help Concern be there for the people affected by the food crisis in Niger and other emergencies around the world. We’ve got items to suit every taste and budget including Plumpy Nut sachets to treat childhood malnutrition at £16, vegetable packs containing seeds and tools for £28, and mobile phone technology for just £48. Each gift will make a last and real difference to the lives of people living in poverty around the world.

Do something amazing today and buy a Concern Gift!

Donkeys are great things, actually. Far from the depressed ones at Blackpool, they’re real hard workers. I saw some on the Ile de Re bringing in the salt and they were all wearing trousers. Google it. In the meantime, join Practical Presents and get someone a gift that matters.