Fix This, Please

This child is only 16 months old, and weighs half of what she should be.

Malnutrition is not unknown in Mali - in the past decade, the country has faced three droughts which all led to major food shortages - this year the country has struggled to cope with a prolonged drought and food crisis that is affecting large areas of the Sahel region of West Africa. The crisis has been made worse by a spreading internal conflict.

Islamist militant groups with ties to Al Qaeda control about two-thirds of Mali after hijacking a secular rebellion by Turaeg nomads in the north at the start of this year and seizing more territory in the wake of a March 22 military coup, which toppled the president based in Bamako.

More than 320,000 Malians have fled the north in search of food or safety, 200,000 of them seeking sanctuary in neighboring Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The remaining 120,000 are internally displaced.

This boy is suffering from acute malnutrition, something that is very common here in Mali.

Despite the vast need, international aid efforts in Mali have been hampered by political chaos and uncertainty, and in the conflict-ridden north, by Islamic extremists who have prevented outsiders from operating in the region. However, IRC staff members who are natives of the north have managed to deliver vital aid to displaced people.

These intrepid aid workers are distributing water purification kits and conducting hygiene promotion campaigns. Still, many people continue to lack clean water, putting them at high risk of cholera.

The Malian people expressed sadness and disbelief over the severity and rapidity of the humanitarian crisis in a country long viewed as stable.

 

This is actually a fairly common thing that happens here. Not with the same terroist group each time, but the act of taking over ones land and food, and ruining their lives.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/10/16/world-food-day-mali/?hpt=wo_mid