Early in 2008 the Irish Red Cross began a research and assessment phase into the livelihoods and the socio-economic conditions of communities in the Zinder region with a view to launching a medium to longer term livelihoods and capacity building program. Funding for this was provided by the British Red Cross.
Zinder region is located in the centre of Niger. It covers some 11.53% of the national landmass. Zinder city is approximately 900km from the Nigerien capital, Niamey. The region suffers from similar agro-climatic problems to other regions of Niger - desertification, deforestation, limited and unreliable rains. Zinder has a mainly rural population and the economy of the region is predominantly agricultural based (largely subsistence). This region has high levels of poverty. Some 70.1% of the population live below the national poverty level and the incidence of extreme poverty in the region is 39%. In terms of the contribution of the region to national poverty, Zinder contributes the highest proportion of all the regions – some 22%.
In August 2008, the Irish Red Cross renewed a Memorandum of Understanding and partnership with the Niger Red Cross in order to implement Livelihood Programmes and Capacity Building programmes in the region of Zinder. These programmes are funded by the Irish Red Cross, the British Red Cross, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Irish Aid.
This two year programme includes two main components:
Capacity Building by supporting and strengthening the capacity of the Niger Red Cross Society to identify and assess the needs of vulnerable people and to implement effective programmes and partnerships to meet those needs (provision of infrastructure and materials, training of Red Cross volunteers, support to income generating activities for the Niger Red Cross).
Livelihood Programme: by reducing the vulnerability of the population to food insecurity, natural resource degradation and disasters the coping mechanisms of the population can be greatly strengthened.