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GENEVA (AP) - Donations to fund United Nations humanitarian work in drought-stricken Niger have jumped dramatically in the last week because of increased media attention and images of starving children, the U.N. humanitarian chief said Friday.
Some 3.5 million people, about a quarter of Niger's population, are facing hunger of "catastrophic proportions," according to Jan Egeland's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The situation could leave almost 1.2 million children on the brink of starvation in the west African nation unless humanitarian help is provided immediately, OCHA said.
Egeland estimated thousands of children are dying in Niger but said it was hard to make a more precise assessment, as no comprehensive survey has yet been carried out.
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