UNITED NATIONS STEPS UP ACTIVITIES IN NIGER

 

NEW YORK, 9 August (OCHA) -- With $26 million -- out of the $81 million required -- now committed to the revised Flash Appeal for Niger, the United Nations agencies and their humanitarian partners operating in Niger continue to step up their activities to bring relief to those affected by the current crisis.

The Government of Niger, the World Food Programme (WFP) -- as the lead United Nations agency distributing food aid in the country -- and the non-governmental organization PLAN are coordinating distribution plans to ensure that all 2.65 million people in need of food assistance will have received aid in August.  The first round of distributions will provide a family ration consisting of cereals, pulses and vegetable oil.  A second round of distributions -- targeting those identified as being in “extremely critical” and “critical” condition -- will provide additional rations of cereals and pulses.

Already, from 24 July to 3 August, the World Food Programme has dispatched over 2,700 metric tonnes (MT) of food to feed some 230,000 individuals.  Moreover, PLAN began distributing 2,350 MT of rice to 99 villages on 29 July.

Meanwhile, admissions of severely malnourished children to treatment centres reached a peak of more than 1,600 in the final week of July.  The non-governmental organization Médecins sans Frontières is currently operating five intensive nutritional rehabilitation centres and 26 ambulatory nutritional centres at which children are treated for severe malnutrition.  Recently arrived in Niger, the non-governmental organization Islamic Relief has already set up five supplementary feeding centres, and intends to establish a total of 30 supplementary and therapeutic feeding centres in four regions.

However, funding for nutrition and health activities remains low, at just 4 per cent of requirements.  This critical lack of support continues despite warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the incidence of communicable diseases is likely to increase.  Specific disease risks include malaria, diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis, and measles.

Overall, the United Nations agencies have strengthened their emergency capacities in Niger.  OCHA has deployed four international staff, and has recruited two local staff.  WFP has called in some 31 surge capacity staff, while WHO has deployed three additional staff, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has deployed surge capacity staff in nutrition and advocacy.  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has set up an Emergency Coordination Unit.  Non-governmental organizations have also increased capacities in Niger significantly.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel.:  917 367 5126, mobile:  917 892 1679; or Vanessa Huguenin, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 917 18 91.

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For information media • not an official record