Niger latest news and situation reports
16 September 2005
We share the concerns expressed by MSF (Medicins Sans Frontieres) that
relief aid in Niger may not be quick enough in reaching those who need it most.
As donors we must continue to keep up the pressure, and ensure that the
resources we are providing are put to best use. Since providing our funding
several weeks ago, we have kept in close contact with our UN and NGO partners
and are doing all we can to help them speed up delivery. In the last week
delivery rates have picked up significantly. WFP (World Food Programme) have now
distributed food to 80% of their targeted 1.8 million people, and combined with
Government and NGO efforts, it is expected that the entire 3 million at-risk
caseload will have received a full month's food ration by the end of the
month
What is happening in Niger is a terrible tragedy, with deep-rooted causes. We must ensure that this does not happen again. That is why we have been pushing so hard for fundamental reforms of the international humanitarian system - including setting up a large emergency fund in the UN to ensure that there is no delay when disasters strike. We must also work much harder as an international community to tackle the underlying poverty that causes these crises.
Top priority must be given to the acute needs of children in Niger. Tens of thousands of children have already been treated for malnutrition (we estimate at least 75,000), and many lives have been saved. The number of feeding stations in operation has doubled in the past month to more than 300. Many of the 32,000 children the UN has identified as being most at risk are being reached. Even so, we recognise that every child counts and share everyone's frustration when the relief effort falls short in any way.
Much still remains to be done to ensure that people can recover fully from this crisis and protect themselves from the risks of this happening again. We are sending a humanitarian expert back to Niger and the wider region soon to take stock of the relief effort and to assess longer-term recovery needs.
As far as we are aware, claims that relief aid to Niger will stop as soon as the harvest is over are unfounded. Our own funding is going to run for several more months. Malnourished children will certainly need help for some time to come, and the international relief effort is geared up to provide that support.
This year's harvest is likely to be a good one, so the pressure on the general population will quickly decrease. Continuing with food aid to those who no longer need it clearly makes no sense, and we are urging our UN and other partners to keep a close eye on the way aid is being targeted to ensure that it is not wasted. Putting unnecessary amounts of free food into circulation immediately after the harvest may also undermine the recovery prospects of many poor farmers by pushing down prices - which is why it is important that emergency food aid targets are met swiftly.
Further information
10 August 2005
International Development Minister Gareth Thomas confirmed today that the government is providing a further £250,000 to support the delivery of humanitarian aid in Niger.
"This is about making sure that humanitarian aid is delivered swiftly and effectively to the people of Niger," he said.
The funding will help strengthen the coordination work in Niger of the 
UN
Office of the Co-ordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World
Health Organisation (WHO). This brings the total commitment to the food crisis
in Niger by DFID to £3.25 million.
Mr Thomas also confirmed that a DFID humanitarian assessment team is in the West African region to assess the situation in Mali and Burkina Faso.
09 August 2005
- DFID is reviewing the revised Flash Appeal just issued by the UN. In the meantime, we have pledged up to £250,000 of additional support to strengthen the coordination work in Niger of the UN Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
- Although the food crisis in Niger is the top priority, we continue to be concerned about food availability in the neighbouring states of Mali and Burkina Faso. We have sent an assessment team to the region this week to report back on the situation on the ground.
01 August 2005
- The international response in Niger continues to gather pace on the ground. We continue to closely monitor the situation, and welcome the announcement of an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee to increase the scale of NGO relief operations.
- DFID funding is being used to support a UNICEF airlift of 100 metric tonnes of nutritionally enhanced food mix (UNIMIX). This will help ensure an uninterrupted supply of urgently required nutritional relief, and will help stop 16,000 children from slipping into severe malnourishment.
- Donor commitments and pledges now exceed £21m (US$37m). DFID has contributed £3m, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. The EU relief agency ECHO has committed almost £4m (US$7m), of which the UK share is 18%.
- The UN will be issuing an updated Flash Appeal for Niger early this week. We will study this with care as soon as we have it.
- We are closely monitoring the situation in the wider region. There are pockets of need in several countries, but none yet warranting the scale of response in Niger, which remains the top priority. We are seeking a more comprehensive assessment of the regional situation from UN and NGO partners and are ready to respond if necessary.
Updated 28 September 2005
