For
anyone involved in the emergency aid response to the Niger food
crisis, there is one overriding thought: time is running out
for many people in this West African country.
“Our absolute priority now is to catch up with the situation,
using the emergency tools that we have,” says Langdon
Greenhalgh, head of the International Federation operation in
Niger, and three other drought-hit countries, Burkina Faso,
Mali and Mauritania. “The Red Cross is using resources
developed with years and years of experience to act, and to
act now.”
A specialist disaster response team from the Federation arrived
in the country two weeks ago, responding to a call for assistance
from the Niger Red Cross. A seed distribution targeting 3,500
people was quickly set up to catch the end of the planting season
and an emergency appeal for 18 million Swiss francs (€
11.5 million, US$ 14 million) was launched on 22 July by the
International Federation.
The Red Cross Red Crescent operation seeks to assist 222,000
of the most vulnerable people in the four countries for the
next six months, through food, seed and fodder distributions,
mobile feeding centres, community-based awareness programmes
and bolstering livelihoods.
Estimates of the number of people now at risk in Niger vary
between 2.5 and 3.5 million. But these are not numbers, these
are lives. From a logistical perspective, it is a massive undertaking.
“This operation is a major challenge, given the size of
the country, the fact that it's the rainy season, and all the
other constraints that you would expect working in remote parts
of western Africa,” Greenhalgh says.
Rapid mobilization
Among the first on the ground was a logistics Emergency Response
Unit (ERU) from the British Red Cross. Several National Red
Cross Societies have a roster of staff specialised in a particular
field – logistics, telecommunications, water and sanitation,
basic health care, relief distributions etc – ready to
be deployed anywhere in the world at short notice.
Team members follow a well-rehearsed schedule, deployed in recent
disasters including the Asian Tsunami and the earthquake in
the Iranian city of Bam.
Equipment is packed, customs paperwork is processed, aircraft
are booked. Then comes all the personal administration: insurance,
visas and vaccinations.
“It pays to be prepared,” says Neil Brown, 39, one
of the team's five logisticians. “Every five minutes you
spend before you get there is worth several hours in the field.”
Staff at the British Red Cross international warehouse near
Bristol loaded two Landcruisers with all the communications
and administration equipment needed to set up a fully functional
operational base in the Niger capital, Niamey. The vehicles
were loaded onto an Antonov-12 plane at Bristol airport, and
the operation was under way.
In-country
“What we have here is an extremely fluid situation,”
says Langdon. “To be honest, we're now in a race to see
how fast the humanitarian community can get assistance up and
running.”
At the Niamey headquarters of the Niger Red Cross, the British
team took over a conference room and rapidly set up satellite
communications and an administrative centre. The whole Red Cross
team met, gathering the British Red Cross, the French Red Cross,
the Federation disaster team and local Niger staff.
“We didn’t arrive in a black hole,” says Neil
Brown. “There have been people ahead of us making assessments.
Combined with the preparations we’ve made, we now have
the flexibility and the resources to adjust to the situation."
Plan of action
A plan has been formulated to set up four supplementary feeding
centres in the worst-affected areas, targeting some 23,000 vulnerable
children and their families. There has been good news from the
World Food Programme. Over 4,000 tonnes of cereals, lentils
and oils have arrived in country, so the Red Cross team has
to be ready to distribute it.
One team headed out on Tuesday morning to Tahoua province, one
of the worst affected areas in the country. Another left for
Maradi on Wednesday. Extra staff, including logisticians, doctors
and nutritionists, are arriving daily.
“I am proud to be part of this Movement and of what it
can achieve,” says Neil. “We have the skills to
make a real difference here.”
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A
woman holds her infant, his face is swollen from malnutrition,
at an emergency feeding centre in the town of Guidan Roumdji
in southern Niger crisis. Photo: REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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pound millet near village in southern Niger, which is
in the grip of a severe food crisis. A quarter of the
country’s population are suffering food shortages.
Photo: REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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A
landcruiser carrying the British Red Cross logistics team
and its equipment begins its journey to Niger. Photo:
International Federation
(p13033) |
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