STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The relief agency AmeriCares said Monday emergency medical aid and water treatment supplies are en route to Niger.
Millions of people in the Sahel region are victims of a food crisis that has left them starving and suffering other health problems, AmeriCares said in a release. The region has been hard hit by drought and political instability, as well as flooding, a cholera outbreak and an influx of refugees from Mali.
The agency said it is sending enough medical aid to treat 15,000 people as a result of contributions from GlaxoSmithKline and P&G.
"Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and they have been the hardest hit," AmeriCares Emergency Response Manager Karl Erdmann said. "More than a third of the population has been affected, including 400,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition. They are not equipped to care for the tens of thousands of refugees crossing the border from Mali, and they are quickly running out of food and medical supplies."
