I was a bit dismayed to see that none of the major American newspapers seem to be taking a look at the current famine in the African nation of Niger. Indeed, the top search for "Niger" on Google News right now refers to Karl Rove and the Valerie Plame investigation. Luckily, the British newspaper The Guardian has an overview of the situation. The lack of media attention has resulted in a lack of foreign aid to finance the transport of food to feed the starving Nigeriens:
The UN first appealed for assistance for Niger in November and got almost no response. Another appeal for $16m (£9.2m) in March got about $1m. The latest appeal on May 25 for $30m has received about $10m but "it's still too little", the UN humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, said.
But what can be done? The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization does not seem to accept donations from individuals and the American branch of Oxfam does not work in Niger, so I decided to donate to Doctors Without Borders. They claim that donating just $35 provides "Two high-energy meals a day to 200 children," which seems like a pretty good deal to me.
When Queleas Attack!
BBC News has an article that is an excellent example of how localized crises can have international effects. Large numbers of red-billed Queleas (Quelea quelea), one of the most largest bird species in the world, have been attacking crops in northern …