At a glance: Niger

Newsline

UNICEF and local partners fight child trafficking and exploitation in Niger
AGADEZ, Niger, 9 November 2009 – It’s 6 a.m. at the Agadez bus station, and the members of the town’s Child Protection Committee are keeping a close watch on the waiting passengers for the bus heading towards the northern town of Dirkou.

Floods devastate Agadez region of northern Niger with lingering effects
AGADEZ, Niger, 25 September 2009 – Unprecedented rainfall has led to severe flooding in northern Niger's Agadez region in recent weeks.

Empowering women to improve child survival in Niger
MARADI, Niger, 14 August 2009 – The harvest period in the village of Guidan Cherifi has just come to an end, and the millet stalks are neatly bundled at the entrance of the village. Normally at this time, the women of the village can be seen working in the fields, or pounding millet for their family’s evening meal.

Promoting basic health practices to save young lives in Niger's remote villages
OUMBA VILLAGE, Niger, 21 July 2009 – Bassira Rabey is a community facilitator who goes from door-to-door in her rural village to make sure that families, especially women, are maintaining a proper environment to improve their children’s health.

Teaming up to fight polio with Niger and Nigeria's synchronized immunization
MARADI, Niger, 5 June 2009 – Aboubacar Sidikou used to be an active two-year-old, running after goats in the courtyard or playing hide-and-seek all day long with his brothers. Now, the once enthusiastic boy has now become very shy. He rests in the arms of his grandmother and suddenly does not pay attention to anyone anymore.

Support and treatment for mothers living with HIV in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 12 May 2009 – At Poudrière hospital in Niamey, Dr. Irène Adeossi is checking the height and weight of six-year-old Aminatou. The little girl tested positive for HIV three years ago and, since then, has been receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment that is especially adapted to her age.

Adult literacy classes in Niger emphasize the importance of family education

MARADI, Niger, 20 April 2009 – In a little hut in the village of Saran Maradi, about 15 women are eagerly copying an adult literacy lesson into their notebooks. Some of the women are mothers nursing their babies while they learn. It is barely 11 in the morning, but the temperature is already scorching. Niger's hot season has begun.

Ten villages unite to say ‘no’ to female genital mutilation/cutting in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 14 April 2009 – Ten villages in western Niger have decided to put an end to female genital mutilation or cutting (also known as FGM/C), publicly calling all inhabitants in the Tillabery region to give up this practice, which threatens girls’ lives.

Reaching the remote villages of Niger with polio vaccine
GARBEY KOUROU, Niger, 6 March 2009 – On the eve of an eight-country polio vaccination campaign held over the past week in West Africa, Ali Boureima, the immunization coordinator for Tillabery health district in Niger, distributed the last batch of oral polio vaccines for nine villages situated on islands in the Niger River.

Communities in West Africa prepare for extensive polio vaccination campaign
ZINDER REGION, Niger, 27 February 2009 – In Niger, traditional and religious leaders are at the forefront of communication efforts in the run-up to a synchronized polio vaccination campaign that begins today in West Africa.

Mothers in Niger ensure health of their babies by caring for their own
NIAMEY, Niger, 9 January 2009 – Aminatou Moukaila, eight months pregnant with her second child, came to the Madina Integrated Health Centre in Niamey for a regular check-up.

UNICEF working to eradicate Guinea worm disease in Niger
YOGARE VILLAGE, Niger, 29 December 2008 – Not a day passes without Kadri Ne Zeilou Beidari remembering the time when both her twin sons contracted Guinea worm disease.

UNICEF supporter Amy Robbins visits Niger to review progress for women and children
MARADI, Niger, 21 November 2008 – Zouley Yahaya has renewed hope and a new goal in life. Some time ago, she bought a goat for 70 dollars. Now, through a UNICEF-supported programme, she expects to sell it for at least double the amount she paid.

Aichatou’s story: New skills protect a former street vendor from exploitation in Niger
MARADI, Niger, 17 November 2008 – A respected tailor within her community, Aichatou has a life today that is a far cry from the one she was living just over two years ago. Back then, she worked as a street vendor in the busy town of Maradi, eastern Niger, on the border with Nigeria.

UNICEF supports maternal and newborn health in Niger
GUIDAN ROUMDJI, Niger, 5 November 2008 – Lying on a bed at the maternity ward of the UNICEF-supported Guidan Roumdji hospital in eastern Niger, Tchima Abou knows she could have died. The 27-year-old woman had given birth to her sixth child, a girl, at home when she started bleeding and slipped into unconsciousness.

'All Girls to School': Niger launches communications campaign on girls' education
NIAMEY, Niger, 9 October 2008 - Ahead of the new school year that started this week in Niger, the Nigerien Government, with UNICEF's support, launched a communications campaign called 'All Girls to School for a Brighter Future'.

As UNICEF and WHO issue global update, water and sanitation still in short supply in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 17 July 2008 – Water is essential for drinking, cooking and hygiene, but collecting it is an arduous and time-consuming daily chore for women such as Kouloua in rural Niger.

UNICEF-supported soap opera raises awareness about HIV/AIDS in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 15 July 2008 – HIV/AIDS is an issue that is rarely talked about in Niger’s conservative society. In August, in an effort to bring the issue to the forefront, Niger will launch its first ever soap opera about young people living in a world affected by the AIDS pandemic.

A new chance for homeless youths and juvenile offenders in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 2 July 2008 – Souley, 16, lives on the streets of Niamey, Niger's capital. He spends most days at the local Educative, Preventive and Judiciary Service (SEJUP) centre, where he is learning skills that will enable him to earn a living and stay out of trouble.

Turning former practitioners against female genital mutilation in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 28 May 2008 – Haissa’s life has forever changed. Her village has publicly vowed to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), asking practitioners to “put down the knife” and put an end to the practice.

Rural preschools create a supportive environment for children in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 27 May 2008 – The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNICEF held a signing ceremony today in honour of their new partnership, which aims to create at least 100 rural integrated community preschools in Niger over the next two years.

Child health strategy encourages use of bed nets to combat malaria in Niger
MADAROUNFA, Niger, 28 April 2008 – Every night, Aliya Saadou, 26, makes sure that her three young children, including one-month-old Bassira, sleep under the safety of a bed net. Once treated with insecticides, a mosquito net is the best protection against malaria, which is endemic in Aliya’s village of Safo Tchikadji, located just 15 km south of Maradi, Niger’s second biggest city.

Executive Board delegates visit Niger to assess progress and set priorities for the future
NIAMEY, Niger, 7 April 2008 – Members of the Executive Board have concluded a working visit to Niger that provided them with an overview of UNICEF’s contribution towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in one the world’s poorest countries.

Oral rehydration salts are a life-saving solution in Niger
SOUMARANA, Niger, 14 January 2008 – Soumaïya, 5, went to bed feeling ill. By the morning, her condition had worsened and she was stricken with vomiting and diarrhoea. Thankfully, her mother took her to Soumarana’s health post and Soumaïya was given adequate attention.

National measles campaign targets 2.9 million children in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 7 January 2008 – Ansoumane, 16 months old, shut his eyes tightly and clenched his little fists as he received a jab in the arm to rousing applause, under the gaze of Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja.

Community volunteers help avert potential health crises before they happen
MADAROUNFA, Niger, 25 September 2007 – When Mourja Abou’s 10-month-old son Nouhou fell ill two months ago, the mother of six knew exactly what to do. She used sugar, salt and clean water to prepare an oral rehydration solution for her son. She then continued to breastfeed him and added solid foods as he began to feel better.

UNICEF Niger works with chiefs to promote child survival and girls’ education
MARADI, Niger, 10 August 2007 – In southern Niger’s Tibiri region, a chief is being coronated. Presiding over the solemn ceremony is Grand Chief Abdou Bala Marafa, one of the country’s most influential traditional leaders.

UNICEF and partners aid child labourers and fight trafficking in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 15 June 2007 – The sight of children toiling in the streets is part of the daily landscape here in Niger’s capital. In one of the poorest countries in the world, two-thirds of children under the age of 14 work.

Habiba’s story: Early marriage leads to tragedy for a young woman in Niger
MARADI, Niger, 29 May 2007 – Habiba, now 17, lives in a small village in southern Niger’s Tibiri region. Married three years ago, she has since endured a tragedy that illustrates some of the worst perils of early marriage.

ECHO and UNICEF promote Plumpy’nut production to improve child nutrition in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 18 May 2007 – Two years after Niger’s severe nutrition crisis, the sight of undernourished children is less common than it was, but chronic malnutrition still affects more than 50 percent of the country's young children. And 10 per cent of Niger’s children suffer from acute malnutrition, even when the harvests are good.

Malnutrition challenges child survival in Niger, despite recent gains
New York, USA, 23 March 2007 – In Niger, one out of five children dies before the age of five, and more than half of those deaths can be attributed to malnutrition.

Cereal banks provide food security during Niger’s ‘lean season’
GUIDON GAZOBI, Niger, 29 September 2006 – The workday is long for the women and girls of Niger. It is still early in the morning when Mahou Abdou begins her daily chores – a series of strenuous tasks, all of which she will have completed before noon.

Fight for survival: Saving undernourished children in Niger
MAYAHI, Niger, 18 September 2006 – Seven-month-old Ramanatou has travelled nine km with her mother to the Mayahi District Hospital in Maradi. She is suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and a high fever. Unable even to digest her mother’s breast milk, Ramanatou is severely malnourished.

‘WASH’ strategy improves access to safe water and sanitation in Niger
GUIDAN GAZOBI, Niger, 8 September 2006 – Access to safe drinking water is a daily struggle for the people of Niger, especially women and girls, who are responsible for collecting water for their families.

Saving children’s lives during Niger’s nutrition crisis
MARADI, Niger, May 2006 – Back in August 2005, Lawali was a very weak five-month-old snuggled in his mother’s lap at a therapeutic feeding centre in Aguie village in the Maradi region of Niger. His mother was spoon-feeding him nutritious therapeutic milk, supplied by UNICEF to help severely undernourished children recover.

As the ‘hunger season’ begins in Niger, UN nutrition appeal offers hope for the Sahel
NIAMEY, Niger, 28 March 2006 – This is the start of the ‘hunger season’ for the Sahel – the vast parched region of West Africa that is one of the poorest on earth – and it is beginning to show in the faces of infants. In a bid to avoid a repeat of the 2005 nutrition crisis here, the United Nations today launched a funding appeal for approximately $92 million to cover the food and nutrition needs of Sahelian countries this year.

Kilima’s burden: Access to water a daily struggle for women in Niger
SAFO NASSARAOUA, Niger, 23 March 2006 – Kilima Sabaou has dreams for her family. She wants to find a job to earn some extra money so she can buy food. She wants to know where her children are in the mornings and help them with basic care. But she cannot do any of this. Water is Kilima’s burden.

After contracting polio, a boy struggles to walk again
MARADI, Niger, 10 March 2006 – Four-year-old Sanoussi was healthy and active, until one day he suddenly couldn’t move his legs anymore.

Mobile cinema brings entertainment and education to Niger’s desert dwellers
AZZEL, Niger, 30 December 2005–After a long drive through northern Niger’s arid landscape, a minivan pulls up in the remote desert oasis of Azzel. This evening, the van is bringing not supplies, but entertainment and education. The “cinema on wheels” has arrived.

UNICEF survey reveals continued high malnutrition among Niger’s children
MARADI, Niger, 21 December 2005 – This year, images of the gaunt eyes and scrawny bodies of Niger’s children shocked the world into action, taking relief supplies to the starving children. But the urgent need for food remains.

Niger: Food crisis may yet worsen
MARADI, Niger, 23 November 2005 – Startling new figures from Niger show that, since the worst of the food crisis in July, more than 12 per cent of the country’s children under 5 have been treated for some form of malnutrition. Humanitarian workers are warning that the crisis is not over; a new critical period is expected in January-March of next year.

Food programme in Zinder region saves lives, but crisis is not over
ZINDER, Niger, 26 October 2005 - Mothers and children waited patiently under the shade of trees, avoiding the burning sun. They had gathered here in hopes of getting a ration of food, from a new feeding programme for villages in the Zinder region – one of the areas hardest hit by Niger’s food crisis.

For pregnant women in Niger, prenatal check-ups come with grain
TCHADOUA, Niger, 15 September 2005 – Nineteen-year-old Sara was one of a thousand pregnant women who gathered recently at the health centre at Tchadoua in Niger’s Maradi region, for free prenatal check-ups and also to collect a set of benefits: food and an insecticide-treated bednet, to help prevent malaria.

Community gardens provide food, income for families
AGADEZ, Niger, 14 September 2005 – Niger is struggling to cope with a nutrition crisis. But in the village of Alikinkin, community gardens are an oasis of beauty and a source of food, helping children avoid the worst effects of the crisis.

UN Secretary-General visits UNICEF-supported hospital in Niger
ZINDER, Niger, 23 August 2005 – On the first day of his visit to Niger, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan got a first-hand look at the food crisis affecting the country. “I came here to see things for myself and I’m very happy that I came,” said Mr. Annan to a group of international and national media. “I was able to visit the Children’s Hospital in Zinder and I also saw MSF’s (Médecins Sans Frontières) operations. I think that both are very effective and both are helping the children,” said Mr. Annan.

News analysis: Niger crisis has deep roots
NEW YORK, 23 August 2005 – Even a brief stay in Niger drives home the urgent need for the humanitarian relief that is now arriving after a sluggish international response to the long-predicted food crisis there. At UNICEF-supplied centres where bone-thin children receive therapeutic milk through feeding tubes and those less severely affected get other high-protein supplements, there are finally signs that most of the 800,000 young Nigeriens at risk of acute malnutrition will be reached.

Niger’s neighbours also threatened by food crisis
NEW YORK, 19 August 2005 – As the disturbing images of starving children in Niger fade from the international media, a similar crisis could be just around the corner for other countries in the Sahel – the vast parched region of West Africa bordering the Sahara desert.

Food and vaccines saving children’s lives
MARADI, Niger, 17 August 2005 – With their babies on their backs, mothers in the village of Tsaki wait patiently in line to receive food and medical attention – the result of a global effort to stop starvation in this drought-stricken country.

Providing safe water for southern Niger
SAFO SOUMARANA, Niger, 17 August 2005 – Niger’s food crisis, with its haunting images of starving children, has caught the attention of the world press. While UNICEF has taken a lead role in providing food aid, the organization has also been quietly working for years to ensure that Niger’s children have another resource which is equally essential for survival – safe water to drink.

Goats for Niger villages help families cope with crisis
MARADI, Niger, 11 August 2005 – UNICEF is providing about 150 villages across Maradi region – the epicentre of Niger’s food crisis – with goats, to help families avoid the worst effects of the crisis. Mothers will have the means to feed their children better, as the goats provide them with milk, cheese, meat and even extra income.

Niger: Therapeutic milk is saving children’s lives
AGUIE, Niger, 10 August 2005 – “My son’s name is Lawali,” says 30-year old Hadjara. “He’s five months old. He’s still very weak, but I think he’s getting better. His eyes follow me around now.”

Niger crisis: Food aid is reaching children
NEW YORK, 8 August 2005 – More than a week after pictures of starving children in Niger shocked the world into action, relief supplies are reaching their destination, but more needs to be done to get children out of danger.

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director says Niger food crisis is an urgent priority
NIAMEY, Niger, 5 August 2005 – UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah is visiting Niger to see firsthand the situation of hundreds of thousands of children, hit hard by the country’s food crisis. The first item on her agenda was a meeting with President Tandja Mamadou.

Niger food crisis: Providing aid and strengthening communities
NEW YORK, 3 August 2005 – The food crisis in Niger means that the number of children requiring medical treatment for malnutrition has more than doubled in a year. Admissions at therapeutic feeding centres continue to rise. In response, UNICEF is supporting deliveries of emergency food and medical supplies and is training health workers in management of severe and moderate malnutrition among children.

Niger food crisis: A story from the front lines
MARADI, Niger, 1 August 2005 – Her face distraught, her gaunt body sweating in the midday heat, Indo arrives at a UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centre in this community in southern Niger. Indo is carrying her 21-month old baby girl, Salima, in her arms.

UNICEF seeks $14.6 million to save children in Niger
NEW YORK, 29 July 2005 –  Hunger and malnutrition are threatening the lives of 3.6 million people in Niger – among them 800,000 children under five. UNICEF and its partners have made an emergency appeal for $14.6 million as famine threatens to spread through the region.

Children and women bearing the brunt of Niger’s food security crisis
MARADI, Niger, 13 July 2005 – Children and women in Niger are bearing the brunt of this year’s food security crisis, brought on by a combination of drought and locust infestation during the 2004 growing season. In many villages of the Maradi Region in southern Niger, the lack of food has sent children begging on the streets.

Food crisis in Niger: Nana’s battle to stay alive
RIKISKAMA, Niger, 16 June 2005 – In an isolated village in Niger’s south-central district of Dakoro, Ramatou and her husband were worried about their seventeen-month-old daughter, Nana. The once-active toddler had grown increasingly lethargic as her weight continued to drop. When Nana no longer had the strength to sit up on her own, her parents realized she needed medical care.

Food shortages hit children in Niger
NEW YORK, 2 June 2005 – Hundreds of thousands of children in Niger are facing serious malnutrition because of food shortages. Swarms of locusts consumed the bulk of last year’s crops and livestock died from hunger and thirst because drought dried up pastureland.

Traditional Chiefs encourage girls to go to school
TCHADI, Niger 15 April 2005 - The role of Niger’s Traditional Chiefs has evolved in modern times.

Crop failure, locusts contribute to critical food shortages
NIAMEY, Niger, 8 April 2005 – Children and families in Niger face critical food shortages in 2005.

Fighting polio across Niger’s Sahara desert
NIAMEY, Niger, 2 February 2005 – Twelve-year-old Roukaya has been paralyzed by polio since the age of five. She was unable to walk until she received corrective surgery last year. For the first time in her life, she is able to go out of the house by herself.

Fighting AIDS on the air in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 30 November 2004 – Radio is the newest tool for fighting HIV and AIDS in Niger.