 |
Most Recent Disaster Declaration:
Food Insecurity, 12-20-11
Uneven and sporadic rainfall during the May-to-October 2011 rainy season led to decreased crop and fodder production, which caused deteriorating food security in localized areas of Niger, particularly in the western regions of Dosso, Tahoua, and Tillabéri. The Government of Niger (GoN) National Agency for the Prevention of and Management of Food Crises forecasted in December 2011 that more than 6 million people—approximately 38 percent of the country’s population—would experience difficulty meeting their overall food needs in the first half of 2012. The GoN also anticipated a 2011 cereal shortfall of 519,000 metric tons that would likely be unevenly distributed in the country. The hunger season, which normally starts in March in most areas, was expected to come as early as January in the Tillabéri Region. Relief agencies noted the possibility that many affected populations would migrate in search of fodder for livestock, further diminishing cereal stocks in other regions. Extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, as well as consecutive years of food insecurity led vulnerable Nigerien households to require continued assistance in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012.
On December 20, 2011, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Lucy K. Abbott issued a disaster declaration due to the effects of food insecurity in Niger. In FY 2011, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) provided more than $13.6 million for agriculture and food security, nutrition, and economic recovery programs, many of which continued into FY 2012, benefiting food-insecure populations. In addition, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided nearly $50.7 million in FY 2011 for emergency food assistance and economic recovery and livelihoods support. USAID/OFDA staff in Washington, D.C., and Dakar, Senegal, continue to monitor the situation in conjunction with USAID/FFP and the U.S. Embassy in Niamey.
Additional Disaster Declaration:
Food Insecurity, 11-5-2010
Beginning in September 2009, short seasonal rains and drought compromised harvests and limited pasture and fodder production, causing a widespread food security crisis and significant livestock loss in Niger. According to the Government of Niger’s April 2010 household food security survey, approximately 48 percent of the population experienced severe or moderate food insecurity, with another 31 percent at risk. In July and August 2010, heavy rainfall caused flooding in Tillabéri, Tahoua, Maradi, Agadez, Niamey, and Zinder regions, affecting more than 226,000 people and damaging more than 13,000 acres of crops.
The 2010 USAID/OFDA-funded nationwide Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) Nutritional Survey reported a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 16.9 percent in 2010, exceeding the U.N. World Health Organization emergency threshold level of 15 percent and surpassing Niger’s 2009 GAM rate of 12.9 percent. Despite an improved harvest in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, residents of agro-pastoral and pastoral regions continued to require emergency food assistance in FY 2011.
On November 5, 2010, U.S. Ambassador Bisa Williams reissued a disaster declaration for FY 2011 due to the effects of ongoing food insecurity in Niger. In FY 2010, USAID/OFDA provided nearly $21 million for agriculture and food security, nutrition, and economic recovery programs, which continue to offer support to vulnerable populations in FY 2011. USAID’s Office of Food for Peace provided more than $79 million to Niger in FY 2010, including 47,000 MT of emergency food assistance and approximately $26.8 million in Emergency Food Security Program grants for the local procurement of food.
Food Insecurity, 01-14-2010
Since September 2009, residents of agro-pastoral and pastoral zones throughout Niger experienced increasing food insecurity as a result of failed harvests due to short seasonal rains and decreased pasture for livestock due to prolonged drought. According to the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the September harvests failed in 20 to 30 percent of agricultural villages in the pastoral and agro-pastoral zones of Diffa Region and of Tanout, Mirriah, and Gouré departments in Zinder Region. As a result of poor agricultural production, rising food prices, and decreased earnings from livestock sales, approximately 30 percent of households in affected villages migrated to urban centers and areas of recessional cropping in search of work, according to FEWS NET. However, the increase in labor supply resulted in a 30 percent decline in average daily wages in urban areas, leading to increased vulnerability of both migrating and urban populations. In addition, USAID/OFDA-funded nutritional surveys conducted by the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported global acute malnutrition rates already above the emergency threshold in Diffa and Zinder regions in May and June 2009, before the failed harvest. In December, the Government of Niger reported that the 2.7 million inhabitants of Niger’s pastoral and agro-pastoral zones faced severe food insecurity and appealed for international assistance.
On January 14, 2010, U.S. Ambassador Bernadette M. Allen declared a disaster due to the effects of food insecurity in Niger. In response, USAID/OFDA provided more than $4.6 million to implementing partners Helen Keller International, Save the Children/U.K., and UNICEF to support interventions in nutrition and economic recovery and market systems. Following the failed harvests, staff from USAID/OFDA and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) conducted multiple trips to assess conditions in affected areas, and USAID/OFDA continued to monitor the situation in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Niamey, USAID/FFP, and other partners to determine humanitarian needs.
For information on additional USAID disaster responses, please see OFDA Annual Reports.
Back to Top ^ |
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
