A heart-breaking sight

Halima, 3, is as light as a bird. Cradled in his mother’s arms, his skeletal frame is evident, and he is so underweight that he no longer has the strength to sit up. It’s a heart-breaking sight.

We need to act now

Acute droughts and poor harvests have hit West Africa, causing a devastating food crisis. As  you read this, as many as 378,000 children in Niger, the world's poorest country, face severe malnutrition, starvation and ultimately, death.

Health centers are filled with malnourished infants and anxious mothers. Niger's emergency is a result of a countrywide crop failure. In many villages there's nothing left to eat. Just read Rekia’s desperate story below.

The situation is absolutely critical: many of these children will die from a simple lack of food if they do not receive help immediately. Please donate now, using the form on the right.

You can make a difference

Your donation will help us to set up emergency feeding stations, supply emergency food, and work with the World Food Programme to train community volunteers to detect malnutrition. You will support emergency relief and long-term sustainable solutions.

We know what to do to save thousands of children. Even children as sick as Halima can be saved. But the situation is critical – if we don’t act now, hundreds of thousands of children will die.

Please help us continue our life-saving work by donating today, using the form on the right,

Rekia's despair

Rekia is so desperately worried about her son, Halima. She is doing everything she can but if help does not arrive really soon, her son will die. “We are farmers and our crops have failed, our animals have died. There are no cowpeas, no millet, no peanuts – nothing, absolutely nothing.”

Halima’s upper arm measures just 9 cm – smaller than a bottle neck. He needs life-saving treatment. Rekia attempts to feed Halima a sachet of therapeutic food. If he eats all or part of it within an hour, he can be treated at a feeding centre. Otherwise, his damaged appetite has to be restored at a hospital.

Halima simply turns away from the food. He is one of the worst cases.

*UNICEF NZ is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Commission (registration CC35979), making your donation tax refundable. More information on How to Claim Your Tax Rebate.