'Revolutionary' Hope Amid Famine

There may be rays of hope in famine-ravaged Niger, in the form of international aid that's beginning to arrive, and a food product one doctor calls "revolutionary."

Still, it will be at least two months until efforts begin to bear fruit, says one doctor who just left the African nation.

Dr. Milton Tectonidis, a nutrition specialist with the group Doctors Without Borders, spent the past month in Niger, touring all of his organization's facilities.

Niger is the world's second-poorest country, and one-third of its people are desperate for food. Last year, a severe drought and an invasion of locusts led to a terrible harvest. Warnings of a hunger crisis were ignored. Now, the children of Niger are suffering most. Some 800,000 of them are starving, even as emergency supplies start to trickle in.

Tectonidis disputes a claim made to the British Broadcasting Corporation by Niger's president, who says the people of his country look well fed.

"We're seeing large numbers of severely malnourished children," he

The next harvest in Niger isn't until October, which concerns Tectonidis: "There is some improvement on the ground. Finally, there's been some action taken in the last few months. The desperate situation was from January until July or August, when there was very little movement."Right now, a number of other agencies are deploying. Up till recently, we were the only ones treating severe malnutrition in Niger. Now, there are other big agencies coming into action. And the U.N. Is bringing in much more food.

"Unfortunately, it will take some time. So we're faced with another two months of hell, really."

But the development of a new type of food packet is offering hope to Niger now, and for future famine victims anywhere, Tectonidis adds.

It's called Plumpy'nut, which The New York Times says "comes in a silvery foil package the size of two grasping baby-size hands, is 500 calories of fortified peanut butter, a beige paste about as thick as mashed potatoes and stuffed with milk, vitamins and minerals."

Tectonidis had high praise for it, observing, "This is a real new product over the last five years that has changed completely our approach. It was much more difficult previously. We would have to hospitalize kids and give them a special milk. But with this product, it's really revolutionized our approach. We can treat many more children on an outpatient basis by seeing them once a week. And it's giving a big hope for the treatment of severe malnutrition in countries where there's a chronic problem. I think this is a product that has to be pushed more and more in the future."

Here are some of the organizations helping the desperately hungry people in the African nation of Niger. Click on any of these to contribute to the groups involved:

UNICEF
Save The Children
Concern Worldwide
Action Against Hunger 212-967-7800
Doctors Without Borders (212) 679-6800
Oxfam America 800-77-Oxfam
U.S. Fund for UNICEF 800-4-UNICEF
Friends of World Food Program