Mauritania: Ravaged By Drought - the Number of Malnourished Children Rises

10 February 2012

Nouakchott — Mariem Mint Ahmedou sits cross-legged on a worn-out carpet in a basic tent built with mud bricks and layers of sewn-together fabric. Her eight-month-old twins, Hussein and Hassan, lie weakly against her body. Both of them have been malnourished since birth, because Beydar, undernourished herself, cannot produce enough breast milk to feed them.

"Because the rains didn't come, we didn't have any harvest. We bought some rice on credit, but there is no meat, hardly any milk. Sometimes we don't eat for two nights," explains Ahmedou of the dire situation not only her family but most of her village finds itself in.

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