UNICEF: Number of Children in Sahel Countries Threatened by Famine to Double in 2012

Luke 21:9-11, “‘When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.’ Then he said to them: ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven…'”

“A million children living in the Sahel countries are at risk of famine or dramatic malnutrition in 2012. This is two times more than today, warned the United Nations Fund for Children.

Famine threatens children in Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania and Mali and the northern territories of Nigeria and Cameroon, said David Gressly, regional director of UNICEF responsible for the countries in West and Central Africa. In 2011 in the region half a million children suffered from extreme malnutrition.

In the Sahel countries, a drought caused lack of water in the tanks, its levels also decreased in the rivers. This seriously threatens the crops and livestock , AFP writes.

‘This children’s crisis is going to be immensely challenging. We do not issue such warnings lightly, but the scale demands an appropriate response that needs to start now’, said David Gressley.

Sahel is a region stretching along the southern edge of the Sahara and the northern edge of the Sudan from Senegal to Somalia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea.” Source – GreenFudge.org.