The International

According to the latest announcement by the European Union, a “strong risk” of famine may be what the world needs to turn its attention to West Africa, where extreme hunger continues to plague the nation. In January, the EU announced that progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving world hunger and reducing infant mortality rates by 2015 now stands jeopardized as West Africa lies on the brink of facing another famine this year.

After a dry season of drought and insufficient harvest, the Government of Niger estimated a cereal deficit of one million tons for 2010 and confirmed half of its 15 million population could face either severe or moderate malnutrition. Amongst those most vulnerable to the imminent food crisis are young children.

Unlike in 2005, when denial by government officials prevented early intervention by aid organizations resulting in a severe hunger crisis that affected 4 million people including 800,000 children, Brian O’Neil, regional director of EU’s aid department ECHO, addressed the current situation calling it “a crisis of enormous proportion,” and declared immediate action must be taken sooner than later. “We are already into what looks like a period of extreme vulnerability and extreme difficulty for the most disadvantaged of the population,” Mr. O’Neil explained, giving warning to the world to press on sustained relief efforts to regions where food shortages are already apparent, before another fruitless harvest arises causing a “catastrophic famine” to follow.