Mali's Food Crisis Goes Little Noticed

[sintax]

Mali's Food Crisis Goes Little Noticed

Monday August 8, 2005 8:01 PM

By EDWARD HARRIS

Associated Press Writer

MARSI, Mali (AP) - While the world's attention has been fixed on famished Niger, Sidi Mohammed's big, tearful eyes and cries of hunger reveal another food crisis unfolding next door.

The year-old baby, mewling as his mother tries to feed him a cup of vitamin-rich gruel provided by aid workers, is one of an estimated 1.5 million of Mali's 11 million people are said to be facing hunger, among them an estimated 144,000 children already suffering malnourishment.

Aid workers say they fear a replay of what happened in neighboring Niger, where the world ignored repeated warnings and only rushed in aid in recent weeks when images of starving children hit TV screens.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5198010,00.html

[Zhade]

1. What's really disgusting is how easily this could be fixed.

I forget the exact percentage, but IIRC a tiny portion of the money we spend on weapons systems we'll never use could provide food and water for everyone on the planet.

Just think about that, and you'll realize how fucked-up this country's priorities are.