Why?
Access to water, sanitation and primary health care in Niger is at a critical level. Accordingly, the Niger Red Cross assists affected populations with emergency health, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, and food security, nutrition and livelihoods support. In July 2014, 800 people per week from northern Nigeria began arriving in Niger’s Diffa region, fleeing growing civil unrest. As of December 2014, when Niger’s Prime Minister declared a humanitarian emergency in the Diffa region, more than 100,000 displaced Nigerians were in the country. Host communities struggle to meet the needs of the displaced, and resources have been exhausted. To make matters worse, the region is experiencing a rainfall shortage, affecting farming and food security. In January and February 2015, further clashes caused spontaneous internal population movements. As of this time, humanitarian assistance in the Diffa region has been temporarily suspended do to security risks. This project take place in the Diffa region of Niger, in the Yebi and Toumour zones, and the Lake Chad Islands.
What?
This project assists those affected through providing access to safe and clean water, repairing sanitation infrastructures, training volunteers on hygiene and sanitation promotion and community based health and first aid, and distributing items to purify water in communities. To increase food security, food parcels are distributed to 25,000 people a month, and activities such as creating vegetable gardens and constructing cereal banks are planned to both increase food security and support livelihoods.
Who?
This project seeks to assist 50,000 people, particularly the most vulnerable, including households with pregnant and lactating women, households with young children (e.g. under 5), women headed households, and households with dependent persons (e.g. people with disabilities, sick, elderly, poor health, etc.). The targeted populations are the displaced from the Lake Chad Islands, primarily consisting of Nigeriens and Nigerians who have been moved from these islands and spread amongst the Toumour and Yebi zones. The host populations in these zones are also targeted.