Annual report 2005 Malteser International - Ordine di Malta

Mali and Niger
As a result of the drought and a plague
of grasshoppers, the dire need of the
people of the Sahel zone – particularly in
Mali and Niger – became so widespread in
summer 2005 that Malteser International
expanded its aid programme from eastern
and southern Africa to cover the west
of the continent as well. In the shortterm,
we sent an assessment team who
rapidly collected reliable information and
immediately started an aid programme
for the people of Mali and Niger.
In Mali, we supported the National
Security Stock. Thanks to comprehensive
financial aid, the Malian government
was able to procure 520 tonnes of cereals
for 17 cereal banks across the country.
This meant several thousand people
were supplied with food which led to an
Niger: Each family receives 20 kilograms of maize. Half of the next harvest will be given back to the community
to build up stocks for emergencies.
Mali: Filling the national cereal banks with 520
tonnes of cereal.
extensive improvement in the foodstuffs
situation, particularly in Mopti - around
640 kilometres north-east of the Malian
capital, Bamako.
In Niger, the lack of rainfall and the
grasshopper invasions also led to a
serious cereals deficit. Here, Malteser
International chose a different approach
in combating the problem. As many
people, particularly children, are regularly
affected by malnutrition as the result
of natural disasters - particularly in the
summer of 2005 -, we decided to tackle
the problem on a broader basis and at the
roots. We initially restocked the levels
in a cereal bank, as we did in Mali. 15
villages were provided with a total of 28
tonnes of maize as seeds. These stocks
will help them survive the period until
the next harvest. However, each recipient
has also simultaneously pledged to ‘pay
back’ part of their next harvest as seeds to
the relevant village committee, in order to
secure stocks for the coming year and in
case of any future disasters.
Sudan
International staff: 11
National staff: 237
Aid for 630,000 people
Malteser International has worked in
Sudan since 1998.
The peace treaty signed by civil war
groups in the north and south in January
2005 gave many cause to hope that the
country was finally on a secure road to
peace, but the implementation of the treaty
in the reality of daily life has proven to
be difficult and drawn-out. Furthermore,
this treaty does not apply to the civil war
raging in the Darfur region in the west of
the country. Two of the warring parties
have indeed signed a peace agreement on
5 May 2006 in Nigeria. This agreement,
S L E E P I N G S I C K N E S S :
Sleeping sickness is an infectious disease that
results in death if it is not treated promptly.
It only occurs in a few countries, such as
Sudan, Congo and Uganda. The trigger is a
parasite transmitted by the tsetse fly. In its
final stage, sleeping sickness leads to brain
fevers that also cause sleep disorders (hence
the name). The pathogen can be detected in
the blood or through tapping cerebrospinal
fluid in the spinal cord. Sleeping sickness
must be treated, but this often triggers
side-effects that can also result in death.
However, for around EUR 1,000, a treatment
can be provided that significantly reduces the
mortality risk.
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A F R I C A