Niger
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Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Provide emergency relief to populations struggling through the region's food crisis and create opportunities for economic development and long-term recovery.
The context
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries, with annual per person income less than $200. Over the past ten years, the country has experienced significant social and political instability that has left millions unable to adequately respond to chronic drought and malnutrition. Additionally, climate change has led to increasingly erratic rain patterns. A lack of precipitation led to a failed harvest at the end of 2011, leaving the entire Sahel region of West Africa in the grip of a dire, ongoing food crisis.
Our work
- Emergency response: Distributed emergency cash and provided cash-for-work opportunities to families to buy food
- Agriculture & Food: Restoring livestock herds and helping pastoralists access fodder and veterinary services
- Water: Preparing the land to absorb rainfall and developing irrigation techniques to help farmers withstand drought
- Health: Supported nutritional screening centers and trained health workers to treat malnourished children
- Economic opportunity: Distributing goats to women to start dairy production businesses
All stories about Niger
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Niger: Four "H"s united for one goal April 11, 2011
The name "4H" is really a pure coincidence: these four colleagues from the same Mercy Corps project in Niger are called Hadiza, Halima, Hadiara and Hadiza.
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Niger: Niger’s success: did anybody notice? April 11, 2011
Protests turn violent in Egypt and Yemen. Transition seems likely after prolonged fighting in Libya and Ivory Coast. Recovery efforts trudge on in Japan’s tsunami zone. Power peacefully changes hands in Niger. Wait. What?
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Niger: Missed opportunities December 10, 2010
In Niger, although women represent more than half of the population, they are victims of all kinds of discrimination. Despite their best efforts they mostly remain poor.
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Niger: The world seems to be upside down October 1, 2010
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Niger: My introduction September 13, 2010
My name is Haoua Sidibé, a political scientist with a special concern for women and development. I worked with national non-govermental organizations (NGOs) from 1999 to 2005. Then I was recruited to an international NGO during the terrible food crisis in Niger.
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Niger: Responding to Niger’s latest hunger crisis July 23, 2010
Five years ago, Mercy Corps responded to a catastrophic food crisis in Niger that put more than 3.5 million people at risk of malnutrition and starvation. Today, Niger is facing potentially worse food shortages — and Mercy Corps is again readying a lifesaving response.
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Niger: Devastating Floods Sweep Niger September 16, 2009
Mercy Corps is sending an emergency response team to meet the critical needs of families in areas of Niger affected by recent torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.
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Niger: Shipping medicines to Niger September 15, 2009
What can one shipment of donated medicines do? How about treat 20,000 mothers and children in Niger suffering from common maternal and childhood illnesses.
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Niger: Climate change and Niger August 31, 2009
Global warming is not only causing already-meager water supplies in the West African nation of Niger to dry up — it's also driving young men from drought-stricken rural areas in search of work to provide for their families.
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Niger: Multiplying their bounty July 28, 2009
Four years ago, a widespread food crisis in the West African nation of Niger threatened the lives of nearly 3.5 million people in more than 3,800 villages.