"As for the bigger picture, listen to Marc Snelling, a member of the British Red Cross Society's Emergency Response Unit, as he responds to the question "Why didn't help get there sooner?"
"There is no single easy answer.We've talked about the wider questions in the past, and we'll continue the discussion in the weeks to come. But for now, if you'd like to find out more about Niger or if you'd like to donate to organizations that are at work in Niger, here are a few links."
One could say that government and UN strategies didn't work as well as they might have done; international donors were slow to respond despite aid agency warnings; it is also the case that it was hard to assess that a chronically deficient food situation was turning acute.
Of one thing I'm certain. It's easy to say that we should 'Make Poverty History'. It sounds good.
But there are huge changes that need to be made on every level - political, economic and humanitarian - before that can happen.
For the time being, though, this is an emergency that we and many others are responding to, right here and right now. The wider questions will have to wait."
[Hello Salmon blog: thanks for linking to Niger Watch. Over the past year, I have posted on the wider questions and look forward to following your discussions in the weeks to come.]
Tags: Niger British Red Cross Salmon UN reform famine hunger season malnutrition Make Poverty History Joe Trippi Live 8
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