THE last time there was a crisis in the landlocked Saharan country of Niger, the president claimed his people were well-fed, yet images of skeletal children shocked the world and aid workers scrambled to deal belatedly with a famine.

• 在最后一次尼日尔撒哈拉内陆地带出现危机之时，国家总统称人民们丰衣足食，而瘦骨嶙峋的儿童照片却足以使全世界感到震惊，救援工作者们纷纷赶来治理饥荒也未能及时到来。