Niger and the Sahel Region*

Niger is a vast, but poor, landlocked country with an estimated population of 11.9 million concentrated in a narrow band of fertile land along its southern border.

Nigerians are much poorer today than they were thirty years ago: GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth very low on average because of a succession of diminishing crop and fodder harvests and a doubling of the population.This year Niger is at the bottom of the poverty league, ranking 175 out of 175 countries on the UNDP's Human Development Index.

Niger was the hardest-hit of four countries in Africa’s Sahel Region (comprising also Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania), which were severely affected by poor rains and locust invasions in the past two years. As a result cereal crops needed to provide food for people and animals have withered and died. Any that survived the drought were consumed by locusts. Wells have dried-up, so animals have died of thirst and starvation, leaving the people with nothing to eat.

Sixty-three percent of Niger's population lives on less than a dollar a day with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of just US$200 in recorded in 2003.

The consequences of poverty are clear; More than one in every ten children dies before reaching the age of five. (155 children out of every thousand) die, life expectancy is just 46 years, 83% of the population cannot read or write and less than half of Niger's children are attending primary school  (40%)

More than half a million people in the region are receiving food assistance from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

This year’s food crisis has been further compounded by the lack of safe water, poor sanitation, population movement and resettlement in temporary shelters which are overcrowded and offer only limited health care.

Sixty-three percent of Niger's population lives on less than a dollar a day with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of just US$200 in recorded in 2003. The consequences of poverty are clear; More than one in every ten children dies before reaching the age of five. (155 children out of every thousand) die, life expectancy is just 46 years, 83% of the population cannot read or write and less than half of Niger’s children are attending primary school (40%)

* Sahel Africa is a wide stretch of land running from the Atlantic ocean to the African "Horn", an area that contains the countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. The name Sahel accurately describes where this area is located because it is an Arabic word for "border" or "margin". The southern border of the region is the Sahara Dessert (Sahara being an Arabic word for "desert"). It is a transition zone between the arid Sahara to the north and the wetter more tropical area to the south. The areas primarily affected are: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and the "Horn."

What the Irish Red Cross is doing in Niger and the Sahel Region 

The Chairman of the Irish Red Cross, David Andrews led a fact-finding mission to Niger, upon the request of the Minister for Development and Co-operation, Conor Lenihan, as a result of the serious food crisis which engulfed Niger and the Sahel region earlier this year. The Chairman’s visit led to an appeal for public donations which raised Euro 1.2 million. A further €352,000 was given by the Irish Government (Development Co-operation Ireland).

Since then the Irish Red Cross has taken the following action to save lives and set-in place sustainable measures to protect the population from any such crisis in the future.

• The Irish Red Cross has already provided technical and logistical support for food assistance to over 130,000 people in Niger.
• The Irish Red Cross has used part of the Irish Government funding from DCI to pay for food assistance programmes elsewhere in the Sahel region, specifically Bukina Faso reaching some 140,000 persons. The rest of the money is being used for post emergency recovery livelihood programs.
• The Irish Red Cross has helped to pay for trucks that have delivered over three thousand (3, 265) tones of aid to people across the Sahel region
• The Irish Red Cross has deployed two experienced Delegates, Eve Janodet and Prosper Gbetie. Cork woman, Eileen Hannon has also recently joined the team and a Country Representative will be deployed within the coming weeks to support the expanding operation. The Irish Red Cross is also paying for the redeployment of our former Country Representative, John Roche, to the Head Office of the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies where he is in charge of food security for southern Africa.
• The Irish Red Cross has deployed an experienced Delegate, John Roche (see profile below), who was seconded to work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
• The Irish Red Cross is investing in the long-term and sustainable development of the communities with which it is working through:
  
  • The payment of training and equipment for local volunteers from the Nigerien Red Cross to enable them to set-up and deliver emergency food aid and provide other services themselves.
    
  • The establishment and administration of a small grants programme which farming communities can use to assist them in replenishing their cattle stocks, purchase seeds or otherwise invest in their own livelihoods.

• Provided every child aged under five years - 3.5 million children - in Niger with malaria-protective mosquito nets, through the distribution of over two million nets.
• Provided food and other aid to over 600,000 people throughout the Sahel Region.
• Fed more than 60,000 children in Niger and Mali.
• Set-up a pioneering cash distribution programme for 90 villages in theTanout region of Niger. This is the first time that cash has been distributed as an emergency response and its effectiveness in giving people the means to pay for food and grains themselves, will be evaluated as a future response to disasters. .  .

Prosper Gbetie is a former Professor of Law from Benin, west Africa, is a veteran with some 12 years Red Cross experience in his home country as well as surrounding countries in the Region. .

Having worked in a number of key roles Prosper brings a wealth of experience to the Irish Red Cross team. A former Regional Disaster Response Delegate with the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Niger Prosper now assumes the role of Capacity Building Project Manager. He is responsible for developing the capacity of the local Red Cross Branches in Agadez town and Bilma and the creation of a new branch in Tabelot, all remote and isolated areas in Niger

Eve Janodet

Eve has taken up a position as the role of Small Grants Project Manager.

Eve is a French citizen with a number of years experience in this area, having lived in the region for over 5 years. The aim of this project is to provide a range of supports to households and communities in the form of cash grants for livestock replenishment, fodder procurement, debt clearance or inoculations of livestock, with a view to averting a need for general food aid assistance during 2006.

Eileen Hannon

Eileen Hannon has recently been appointed to the position of Finance and Administration Delegate to Niger.
Eileen is based in Agadez with frequent travel to the capital Niamey and is responsible for guaranteeing financial accountability and transparency in Irish Red Cross projects across Niger. Eileen is a qualified accountant with a business degree in management and with almost 18 years experience in the financial services industry. Most of this experience has been gained in a number of senior management positions in Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland International Division and Bank of Ireland Finance.

Irish Red Cross Country Representative to Niger Position
Interviews are taking place for the position of Country Representative to Niger following the departure of John Roche who begins a new job as Senior Food Security Officer with the Africa Department at the International Federation of the Red Cross/ Red Crescent in Geneva.

This significant appointment, paid for by the Irish Red Cross, means that John will develop systems to help prevent the development of situations of food and water shortages becoming famines.

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