WORLD leaders will soon have the opportunity to prevent food crises like Niger ever happening again. More than three million people, including 800,000 children, are now facing starvation because governments around the world have failed to respond to an emergency appeal launched by the United Nations last November.
It outrageous that world leaders wait until children are dying and the TV cameras arrive before they act. A $1bn emergency fund is now on the agenda of the UN Summit in September. If the proposal is agreed, UN member states would pay into the permanent fund, so that when a country such as Niger needs assistance, money would be available immediately.
Had governments responded six months ago, it would have cost $1 per person affected per day to prevent the food crisis in Niger, Mali and Mauritania. It will now take about $80 to save each starving person.
RICHARD STANFORTH,
Oxfam Midlands.
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