The leader of the junta in Niger has said millions in the country face a risk of famine — throwing a spotlight on an issue that was seldom discussed during the rule of recently ousted President Mamadou Tandja. The new military ruler, Maj. Salou Djibo, said in a televised address to the state on Feb. 28 that virtually all regions of the country were at risk of food shortages and malnutrition. In January, an official report (leaked to a Nigerien newspaper) estimated that about 7.8 million of Niger's 15 million people would face food insecurity in 2010. Poor rainfall in 2009 has threatened cereal crops and added to fears of malnutrition.
