Source

Situation still dire as malnutrition and death rates remain high

Seven leading aid agencies call on donors to act now to prevent humanitarian disaster

Niamey (Niger), March 21, 2012 – A new study has found that between 70 and 90 per cent of people from communities in western and eastern Niger fear their food stocks will run out before the next harvest, creating an imminent ‘hunger gap’. All families surveyed said they had already reduced the amount of food consumed each day because they did not have enough to eat.

World Vision emergency staff is heading to affected areas to assess the damage and respond after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Oaxaca, Mexico, located about 115 miles east of Acapulco, Mexico. World Vision has several programmes in the area. Staff in the Mexico City office were forced to evacuate in the quake. Their electricity and internet in the office remains cut off.

One year after a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan, World Vision continues to assist tens of thousands of children and families in the most affected communities.

“The shocking events of March 11, 2011 had an unimaginable impact on large parts of north-east Japan and its citizens,” said World Vision Japan’s Response Director, Mariko Kinai. “The humanitarian need was overwhelming. That’s why World Vision responded within 48 hours and will continue to work with affected communities until March 2014,” she explained.

Les acteurs humanitaires appellent à un financement rapide et conséquent

Niamey, 12 Mars 2012 - Les acteurs humanitaires sont préoccupés de l’épuisement précoce des stocks de nourriture de nombreuses familles nigériennes et s’inquiètent des risques d’aggravation de la crise alimentaire et nutritionnelle si les réponses en cours ne sont pas rapidement renforcées.

Selon le Système d’Alerte Précoce (SAP) national, plus de 6 millions de Nigériens ont besoin d’une assistance immédiate.

Today World Vision announces tornado relief operations will now be expanding to target six states impacted this week by powerful storms and tornados spanning from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. World Vision’s National Domestic Disaster Headquarters in North Texas will serve as the organisation’s disaster “hub” where relief supplies are prepositioned to deploy quickly to disaster survivors. The 60,000-square-foot facility is centrally located in the U.S.

• Overflowing population could impact region already struggling with food crisis
• World Vision distributing water purification tablets, medicines

Media Contact:
Laura Blank
708.872.5265

NIAMEY, Niger 29 February 2012 – The insecurity in Mali has World Vision aid workers concerned about the effects of the conflict on both the refugees and families currently living along the border in "host communities." In preliminary surveys, World Vision staff has already seen some villages in Niger swell from a population of 1,000 to 7,000 or more.