Attachments
In Numbers
4,094 mt of food assistance distributed in August
US$ 1.27 m cash-based transfers in August
US$ 48.4 m six months (Oct 2019 - March 2020) net funding requirements
1.401 m people assisted from January to August
Strategic Updates
• On 9 September 2019, WFP, acknowledging the deteriorating security situation, activated a Level 3 emergency response in Central Sahel - Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – preliminarily until March 2020. The L3 aims to prepare for growing humanitarian needs and to safeguard resilience gains.
• Dr. Marthé Mamadou, Minister of Primary Education, received Sory Ouane, WFP Niger Country Director to discuss school canteens for the 2019/2020 school year. The exchange focused on resource mobilization and harmonization of school feeding programmes across the country as WFP will assist the Government in formulating a national school feeding policy.
Operational Updates
Crisis Response
• In Tillabéry, due to the tense security situation, UN agencies and international NGOs have limited access to areas close to the Malian border (Ouallam, Banibangou and Abala districts) and to the Burkinabé border (Torodi district). As a result, WFP cannot have direct access to 12,500 Malian refugees and 7,800 IDPs but continues to assist them through local partners (APIS, APBE and Karkara) who are still receiving authorisation to access the areas.
• In Maradi, the Nigerian refugee crisis is evolving quickly. In September, WFP plans to reach all 41,800 refugees registered by UNHCR by the end of the month. The assistance is foreseen to continue into 2020. WFP contributed with its inputs to a press conference given by UNCHR on 27 September in Geneva to raise international attention on the situation.
• In Diffa, in Sayam Forage refugee camp, all refugees were assisted through cash transfers for the first time. The change of modality was preceded by sensitization for beneficiaries.
Food Security Cluster
• In preparation of the 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview and the Humanitarian Response Plan, the WFP-FAO co-led Food Security cluster submitted a sector analysis of the five main crises affecting Niger (food insecurity, displacement, malnutrition, floods, epidemics) to OCHA.
• The Food Security cluster and the food security working group in Maradi drafted a food security response plan for the Maradi refugee crisis. It was submitted to UNHCR on 19 September.
• Discussions are continuing regarding the anchorage of the Food Security cluster and its direction.
Integrated Resilience-Building Package
• WFP Niger received the visit of the steering committee of a Rome-based Agencies (RBA) (FAO, WFP and IFAD) resilience-building initiative funded by Canada, implemented also in DRC and Somalia.
The committee carried out a three-day field visit to assess the projects’ progress in Maradi and Zinder. The recommendations focused on strengthening collaboration, developing a joint exit strategy and ensuring local ownership. WFP is collaborating with FAO and IFAD beyond this project to strengthen the RBA collaboration.
• WFP assisted the Government with flood damage mitigation, by providing regular risk updates. WFP’s cooperating partner "Cloud to Street Public Benefit Corporation", provides weekly bulletins with high-resolution satellite images and rainfall forecasts to assess and forecast the extent of flooding. According to the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Civil Protection, more than 211,000 people in Niger were affected by flooding during the rainy season in 2019. It is estimated that 57 citizens lost their lives,13,300 houses and 4,700 ha of cropland were destroyed. Two thirds of those affected in 2019 reside in Maradi, Zinder and Agadez regions.
• WFP assisted 9,700 adolescent school girls between January and September with scholarships. The girls receive cash assistance conditional on their school attendance and performance. Based on the link between education, maternal health and malnutrition in children, the adolescent project tackles malnutrition through a multisectoral nutrition and gender-sensitive approach while also contributing to lifting barriers to education for girls. WFP is currently preparing for the school year 2019/2020 as deliveries will start the first quarter of the school year.