GUIDAN IDER VILLAGE, NEAR KONNI, NIGER, 27TH JULY 2010: Ayi Mohamed, 40, cradles her 3 month old grand-daughter Bourja Gada
GUIDAN IDER VILLAGE, NEAR KONNI, NIGER, 27TH JULY 2010: Feeding centre started in 2004 by Christian Aid partner HEKS in partnership with GADRA. Ayi Mohamed, 40, cradles her 3 month old grand-daughter Bourja Gada who weighs just kilos. Ayi walked 5 Kms with her daughter Basira, 17, to seek treatment for the child. She said," if we hadn't come here Bourja would have died, but with help from here we hope she will survive. Her mother herself was so malmourished during her pregnancy and that is why Bourja is so tiny. She could not breast-feed her so we have had to feed her wet biscuits." Very poor rains in 2009 and late rains this season has led to severe food insecurity in many areas of Niger. Since last September food prices have risen by approximately 25%. Other factors affecting family's ability to feed themselves and their livestock include worsening wind and soil erosion, a staggering 3% population growth, increasing mortality rates and rising temperatures. Even if the rains now falling improve, the harvest itself is predicted to yield only 50% of what would be expected in a year of good rainfall. Photo by Mike Goldwater / Christian Aid
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Niger, West Africa
Photo credit: © Mike Goldwater / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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