Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. One in six children dies before their fifth birthday. And most children before the age of 14 do paid work. We have launched an emergency appeal as 378,000 children face starvation if we don't act now
Niger is facing a potentially deadly food crisis. Families are struggling to feed themselves and the early warning signs are signalling a looming food crisis. Unless the international community acts quickly, our team will see more cases like Aouta, a two-year old boy recently treated for acute malnutrition by our team.
We set off this morning to the clinic for severely malnourished children in Aguie, Maradi region, Niger. We were looking for Saminou, a two-year-old boy we met last September in the clinic where he was being treated by Save the Children. His tiny, skeletal face, captured by Sky News, had moved enough hearts to prompt £10,000 of donations to Niger. Now Sky News were back to find out what happened next.
Being a mother in Niger is one of the hardest jobs you can imagine. In fact, Save the Children’s own “State of the World’s Mothers” reports has found, time and time again, Niger ranks at the bottom, as one of the worst places to be a mother.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the rains here – when 86% of people live off 11% of the land, where animals are the main source of wealth, and where water is precious — the rains can make or break people’s lives. Malaria erupted with the onset of this years’ rains and there was heavy flooding in certain areas. Now they’ve ended and the harvest has begun there’s much to be positive about.
Tsahirou was brought to Save the Children in May this year. He was suffering from severe malnutrition and diarrhoea, he needed oxygen and antibiotics, but after just ten days of treatment his health had improved so much he was able to feed, smile and play. This week we went to see Tsiharou in his village. The fragile, skeletal baby had been replaced by a healthy round little boy. It was wonderful to see.
It was amazing to see the pictures that dropped into my inbox from a colleague in Niger. It took me a little while to recognise little Tsahirou.
In the UK, it rains heavily and it’s annoying. In Niger it rains heavily and – if you’re poor, and you probably are – it’s economic breakdown.
Women like Abuda live all over Niger. With almost no education, support, or resources they’re still coming up with intelligent ways to support themselves and their families. They’re enterprising and they’re finding their own ways out of poverty, but they live in one of the hardest places in the world.
In Niger’s bustling capital, Niamey, it’s easy to forget that more than 80 percent of people in this country are dependent on the land for food and their livelihood.
Most are extremely poor – a combination of regular poor harvests which yield little and a hand to mouth existence when the harvests are good.
I’ve just met a Nigerien woman in the capital, Niamey, who is determined to challenge the unscrupulous traders who are partially behind the high prices of millet – the staple here – and other grain which is playing an important part in the severe food crisis which is devastating this country.
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