MSF opens feeding centers

Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) says it is building a therapeutic feeding centre for malnourished children in Maradi, a town in the south of Niger, which has been affected this year by severe drought and crop shortages. MSF has already opened two other therapeutic feeding centres in Niger since July. The first is in Dakoro, 500 km east of the capital, Niamey, while the second is in Maradi, 550 km east of the capital. The centres have looked after hundreds of children, most of whom arrive in "alarming" nutritional health, according to MSF, which said 225 children were treated for "severe malnutrition" in late September in Maradi. Malnutrition among children in Niger stems generally from economic, social, medical and cultural factors, MSF reported. Teams of MSF specialists are conducting investigations to better understand this health issue and find ways to combat it, the Paris-based organisation said.