Hunger is etched in the faces and eyes of children, women and men living in the countries of Niger, Mali, Zambia and Kenya. These millions are struggling to survive in the face of a devastating drought that has made food a scarcity in the region.

In response to the resulting food crisis, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing food for families in Niger, Mali, Zambia, and Kenya, who are fighting to survive in the face of hunger, suffering, and malnutrition.

A famine in Niger caused by a severe drought that has destroyed crops, and livestock, has left families battling with severe malnutrition. There are nearly 2 million people in 1,800 villages affected by the food crisis in Niger.

The ADRA office in Niger has partnered with the “Cellule de Crise Alimentaire,” the division responsible for food distribution in the office of the Prime Minister of Niger to provide for families in need. Through the project ADRA distributed almost 706 tons of food to 66,618 beneficiaries located in 43 communities in the Doutchi and Madoua districts.

Need is ADRA’s main criteria for helping others and several feeding programs focus on improving the nutrition of malnourished children. In addition to feeding thousands in Niger and Mali, ADRA has specifically distributed foods to villages where children are suffering from severe malnutrition.

In Mali, ADRA began an emergency response to improve the overall nutritional status of 31,732 vulnerable children under the age of five in the districts of Gao, Menaka and Ansongo. Also 13,325 people benefited from food for work and food for training activities.

The ADRA office in Mali also began a six-month emergency response in January to improve the overall nutrition of 3,600 malnourished children under five in the locusts and drought-affected communities in the Gao district. The project identifies children who are suffering from malnutrition and assists them, as well as supporting five health centers in the region. The project aims to correct malnutrition by weekly monitoring and providing appropriate nutritional care for each participant. The ADRA office in Norway funded it.

Both interventions are done in collaboration with the World Food Program, which is providing the food for distribution.

In Zambia, ADRA has partnered with the World Food Program and the Zambian Government’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to implement two interventions to counteract the effects of the food crisis. Both programs has benefited some 200,000 people.

In Kenya, ADRA plans to work in the Mandera district in the North Eastern Province and Kitui district in the Eastern province of Kenya, where the effects of drought has caused suffering for approximately 3.5 million people and massive deaths among the livestock which support their livelihoods. ADRA is providing a month’s supply of maize, beans and cooking oil for 2,500 beneficiaries as part of their initial response.

ADRA is also providing water for domestic and livestock use through drilling five boreholes and equipping them with generating sets and storage tanks. This project will benefit an estimated 12,500 people, and 125,000 livestock. ADRA is also providing assorted seeds to 1,000 households for the next rainy season. The six-month project is valued at U.S. $210,220, and is funded by ADRA international.
In a continuing effort to alleviate hunger in many parts of Africa, an ADRA assessment team arrived in the region on March 26, to analyze the situation, and initiate an extensive relief effort. They are currently visiting Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zambia as well as the ADRA office for Somalia, which is also located in Kenya.

“During our investigation, we will gather the necessary information that will allow us to respond adequately to the food shortages in the countries affected,” said Frank Teeuwen, bureau chief for emergency management for ADRA International. “From there, we will be able to initiate new programs and new funding for programs that will enable us to meet the needs of the most vulnerable sections of the population.”