African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century By ...

converge on one location, there is risk of spreading infection.⁸⁵ According to the UNDP, 3.6 million people were affected by the food shortage, with some places experiencing a daily toll of 4.1 deaths per 10,000 people. According to Thierry Allafort-Duverger of MSF, 30,000 children had been treated for malnutrition and undernutrition midway through the crisis, and he predicted 50,000 would be treated by the end of the year.⁸⁶ Allafort-Duverger noted that “the slightest breakdown, be it a drop of harvests or a rise in prices, is enough to trigger a dramatic rise in the number of children falling victim to severe malnutrition.”⁸⁷

Moreover, the problem extends beyond Niger's borders. According to UNDP administrator Kemal Dervis, “there needs to be an increase of resources allocated to the Sahelian region. A long term commitment is needed for the region, not just in response to crisis.” Furthermore, he states that “our work now has to focus on the complex mechanisms that need to be put in place to really ensure food security, reduce infant mortality, and increase maternal health.”⁸⁸ Dervis points to the importance of women's empowerment and education to positively impact these conditions.⁸⁹ Another indicator of the importance of educating girls is the linkage between education and fertility rates. According to the United Nations, women with no education have twice the fertility rate as women with ten or more years of education. In another study, seven years of education seemed to correspond with fertility decline. Not only is education linked to falling fertility rates, but it provides an avenue for increased participation of women in the economy, society, and governance—all factors that lead to human development, as opposed to factors that gravely contribute to human misery.⁹⁰ Interestingly, a nutritionist from UNICEF mentioned that even teaching women the simple task of breastfeeding instead of giving babies water (usually contaminated) would go a long way in fighting health problems.⁹¹ Kofi Annan, after visiting Niger and listening to starving villagers and seeing the effects of hunger on babies, concurred that Niger requires more than free food.⁹² As a first step in understanding the complexity of Niger's condition, the next section provides an environmental analysis. With the declining environmental conditions and resources combined with an