CRS increases aid to Niger to help stave off famine

Published: 2005-07-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic Relief Services is increasing its aid to Niger, the West African nation plagued by drought and locusts. CRS is increasing its annual $8 million budget for Niger by $3 million and sending additional staff to the country as it tries to stave off famine, said Christopher Daniel, CRS regional representative for West Africa. "The food security issue is the biggest problem. Faminelike conditions are being reported in pockets of the country, mostly in the areas where CRS is operating," Daniel told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview from the agency's Baltimore headquarters. CRS is the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency. Daniel said Niger's population is suffering due to a combination of drought and locust invasion that affected crops during this year's planting season. The United Nations said July 27 that some 1.2 million people were at risk of starvation and that food stocks in Niger were dwindling.

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