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Summary: Large numbers of children have died as a result of the food crisis in Niger which began early this year, an aid agency estimates.
France's Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says the death rate is several times over the international emergency level. On average more than 40 young children have been dying a day in one area surveyed in the east of the country. MSF accuses foreign aid organisations of misdirecting aid to those moderately malnourished rather than most in need. Thousands have probably died of hunger in recent months. The World Food Programme says most of the food that is needed is in place but it has not yet been distributed to at least one million people. Logistical difficulties in acquiring the food at short notice and getting the food to the warehouses has caused the delay. 'Inadequate response' Yet had the world responded earlier to the signs that a crisis was looming, all of this would have been manageable, says the BBC's Hilary Andersson in Niger. She said that, although aid has reached many, the situation had visibly worsened in some areas she first visited in July. Malaria has set in and many of the starving are now struggling to fight disease in their weakened condition, our correspondent adds. MSF accused the UN last month of an inadequate response to the crisis, saying food relief was being poorly targeted and not delivered to the right place at the right time. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan promised Niger all the aid it needed while on a two-day visit to the stricken areas. The UN estimates that up to three million of Niger's 12 million population are suffering food shortages. It says 32,000 children with severe malnutrition could face death without the necessary food and medical treatment.