New Grant Boosts Aid Efforts in Niger
The U.S. Government’s Office of Development Assistance recently approved a $513,000 grant that will enable World Vision to assist malnourished children who are at risk of starvation in Niger.
The U.S. Government’s Office of Development Assistance recently approved a $513,000 grant that will enable one of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world to assist malnourished children who are at risk of starvation in the eastern Zinder area of Niger.
The grant project, according to a recent report by World Vision, will provide supplementary feeding for 2,090 moderately malnourished children and outpatient therapeutic feeding for 640 severely malnourished children over the next six months. According to the organization, mothers and siblings of children in the supplemental program will also receive a monthly dry ration of millet, oil and cowpeas.
“This grant comes at a critical moment,” said Olivier Saugy, World Vision Niger’s Operations Director. “We are heading into the soudure—the lean season between now and the harvest in October. Even in good years, people have little to eat during this season and we see cases of malnutrition. But this year, because of the drought, the level of malnutrition among children under five is soaring in Zinder.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Saugy says a recent study conducted by World Vision in revealed a mortality rate of 2.49/10,000 among children under-5 year in Zinder and 3.09/10,000 in the neighboring district of Maradi. According to World Vision, these critical levels of malnutrition are usually found among children in war-torn countries such as Sudan. Children already weakened by malnutrition are at considerable risk of dying from malaria as the rainy season approaches.
In Maradi, World Vision supports 7,000 children in Zinder and 7,500 children. The current drought crisis has affected some 400,000 people in all 11 rural area development programs. The OFDA grant may be extended to include supplemental and therapeutic feeding in Maradi.
World Vision reports that it will partner with UNICEF, WFP and local government health centers on this project. UNICEF will provide food for the therapeutic feeding, including supplies of Plumpynut, a new high-protein, multi-vitamin supplement that malnourished children take home in small meal-sized packets. Distributing Plumpynut packets helps eliminate some of the hygiene and management issues that can arise when children are fed at a feeding centres that are often run by local volunteers.
WFP will provide 1,480 tons of food to World Vision to be used for complementary feeding of malnourished children, “food for work” agro-forestry programs and to launch 40 new cereal banks.
While the food security situation is most critical in Zinder and Maradi, conditions are also quickly deteriorating in the southwestern area of Tillaberi. With more than $100,000 from WV Canada and WV UK, World Vision Niger launched extensive gardening and food aid programs that have sustained people until now.
“Some families here are going three days without ‘putting the pot on the fire’,” says Paul Abdou, Tera ADP manager. “That means they are only having a good, cooked meal of millet and meat or fish once or twice a week. The rest of the time they are eating a millet porridge that has little nutritional value.”
Abdou says there is little food to buy in the market and what is available is selling at almost double the normal price. A 100-kg bag of millet that usually costs 9,000 francs ($18) now costs 25,000 francs ($50)—exorbitant prices for Nigeriens, 60 per cent of whom earn less than $1 per day, primarily through farming.
To find the $36,800 to buy 66 tons of food for a local food-for-work project, Abdou says he cancelled the construction of six classrooms. And he may have to make more budget cuts. He needs to shave another $19,000 to buy food for community cereal banks.
“People in our communities really want the food-for-work program to continue,” said Abdou.
“[They] really need this assistance, especially during the coming lean season, but we’re having a hard time even finding food to buy here,” he added. "Vendors are going to Nigeria to purchase food but they’re not coming back with much.”
According to World Vision, neighboring countries are also experiencing food shortages after drought destroyed much of last year’s harvest. The Government of Niger has declared an emergency and the U.N. is appealing for $16 million to assist the estimated 3.6 million people at risk, including 800,000 children.
