Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: An Israeli guard was killed in a shooting attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, and those who carried out the operation were injured
Ofer Military Court extended Nasser al-Lahham's detention for three days
Israeli media platform says a reserve soldier was found killed in Har Homa in al-Quds
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli drone strikes a vehicle in the town of al-Mansouri with two missiles
Yemeni Armed Forces: We are working to expand our military support operations and continue the naval blockade until the aggression on Gaza ends
Yemeni Armed Forces: We carried out a top-tier military operation targeting Llydd Airport with a Thulfiqar missile, which successfully achieved its goal
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 16 Palestinians, including 10 children, were martyred in an Israeli bombardment near the al-Zawari junction in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip
US State Department sanctions UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
Yemeni Armed Forces: We reiterate our warning to companies dealing with ports in occupied Palestine that their vessels and crews will be targeted anywhere.
Yemeni Armed Forces: We reaffirm our commitment to preventing Israeli maritime activity in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

Niger lies in the eye of climate crisis

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 21 Jun 2022 11:41
4 Min Read

As the global food crisis exacerbates years of drought, a clinic in Niger is swarmed with emaciated children, with more dying in villages.

  • x
  • ‘We just pray for rain’: Niger is in the eye of the climate crisis.
    ‘We just pray for rain’: Niger is in the eye of the climate crisis

The food is consumed, and no planting can take place in southern Niger until the rains come. Hassan and Husseina, three-month-old twins, are being cared for in intensive care at an Aguié clinic by their mother, Hadjara Hamissou. They were admitted a few days ago, their tiny bodies wasting away from hunger. Each weighs less than 2kg, which is less than half their healthy weight for their age.

“I carried them here on foot,” says Hamissou. “At home in our village, it is a very desperate situation. The rainy season has not started so we cannot plant, and we have finished all our food. Everyone is suffering.”

Read next: Horn of Africa drought drives 20 million toward hunger

More than a dozen emaciated toddlers are clinging to life in the unit, while a medical team works behind a screen to resuscitate a 20-month-old boy.

They are unable to succeed. As Hamissou and the other mothers in the ward watch in silence, a porter brings his small body out of the room, covered in a purple blanket.

“His parents waited several days to bring him and by the time they came, it was too late,” says Al-Mustafa Amadou, one of the nurses. “We could not do anything to save him.”

Consequences of climate change 

Niger is at the epicenter of the climate problem. Because of irregular rainfall and longer dry seasons, several sections of the country have not had a productive harvest in more than a decade. Temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster here than elsewhere in the world, causing a cycle of droughts that are depleting 14% of arable land. Cereal production dropped by 39% last year.

Related News

170 people killed in Nigeria floods over past weeks

Floods hit 10 states in Nigeria, threatening to worsen food crisis

About 44% of Niger's children are malnourished, and 4.4 million people – 18% of the country's population – are expected to face food insecurity or worse this year, which is twice as many as last year.

Read next: UN: 13 million face hunger as drought engulfs Horn of Africa

Under-resourced humanitarian agencies only have the finances to assist 3.3 million people, leaving more than a million people without assistance as donors focus on other crises such as Ukraine and the drought in East Africa.

#Drought in the Horn of #Africa has killed over 1.5 million livestock and severely reduced cereal production, "and we are most definitely now sitting on the brink of catastrophe," according to a senior #UN Food and Agriculture Organization official. pic.twitter.com/HOcgJstNo8

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 16, 2022

Emergency response 

The Niger government's recent emergency response plan to deal with the crisis has a $200 million gap in its $280 million budget, while the UN World Food Programme cut rations to people it aids in Niger by half in January as the global food crisis bites.

“The population is on the brink of a dire humanitarian crisis,” says Ilaria Manunza, of Save the Children, which helps fund the clinic in Aguié. “In fact, we are already in the middle of it – the child malnutrition rate is one of the highest in the world.”

The human toll at the clinic is stark. According to Moussa Bubakar, its medical director, 100 youngsters are now being treated for acute malnourishment, and he expects that number to grow in the coming months. Because there will not be enough beds for everyone, children will have to share. In addition, the institution lacks oxygen, blood, and gasoline for its single ambulance.

"Goats are unsellable, and our children are starving."
-Moses Loloju, a herder from Isiolo county.

Due to #ClimateChange, millions in #Kenya are struggling to find enough to eat. pic.twitter.com/5sSFJmnXpy

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 20, 2021

“Over the last three years, we have seen a big increase in malnutrition cases,” says Bubakar. “We don’t have enough resources to adequately treat them. We need more support."

“Children are dying from malnutrition in the countryside because their families do not have enough money to bring them here. They just die at home. Last week we had 10 children who passed away from malnutrition at the clinic and just one doctor to care for 100 children. We are trying to employ another doctor, but even two is not enough.”

Read next: UN: Critical climate indicators broke records in 2021

  • Global food crisis
  • Africa
  • Drought
  • Niger

Most Read

Syria demands 1/3 of Golan, Lebanese areas for 'Israel' peace deal

Syria demands 1/3 of Golan, Lebanese areas for 'Israel' normalization

  • MENA
  • 4 Jul 2025
Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Al-Qassam hits IOF groupings in Khan Younis; ‘tough incident’ reported

3 Israeli soldiers killed by Resistance gunfire in south, north Gaza

  • Palestine
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Los Angeles police arrest a protester on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Politics

ICE weaponized Canary Mission to silence student dissent

Palestinians hold a sign with logo that says "No God But Allah" and "Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades" outside the Dome of Rock Mosque, al-Quds , Friday, March 24, 2023 (AP)
Politics

Hamas conducting precision ops., gathering intel despite pressure

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk attends the first plenary session on of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 in Bletchley, England. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Technology

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok goes rogue; X CEO steps down

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to speak to the media, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP)
Politics

Israeli NGO seeks Netanyahu’s removal, cites rule of law breach

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS