Famines are becoming more frequent in the Sahel

TAKING OFF her veil, Fatou (not her real name) begins to wrap her dead child in cloth. It does not take much. The toddler is half the size she should be. But Fatou cannot tie the final knot. Her mouth opens and then closes. Slowly she straightens her back and walks out of the room.

The main hospital in Zinder, a southern region of Niger, treats hundreds of starving children every week. Rehydration and peanut paste save most of those who make it here. But some are too far gone to help.