Food aid situation: The sanctions imposed on Niger following the military coup on July 26, 2023, resulted in a decrease in funding for humanitarian actions due to the blocking of food orders and the suspension of financial aid. Additionally, large-scale military operations launched to combat the activities of armed terrorist groups have contributed to restricting humanitarian access to areas and populations in need of assistance. The reductions and exceptions granted in the ECOWAS sanctions for humanitarian goods and materials have enabled humanitarian actors to have access to food and financial stocks to relaunch humanitarian aid actions. Therefore, in the 12 municipalities of the Diffa region, 261,000 targeted individuals out of the 387,000 identified in need receive food aid from 51 humanitarian actors. According to key informants interviewed as part of a rapid assessment of the food situation conducted at the end of January 2024, food aid supplies are distributed monthly in particular in areas of concern in the form of cash transfers of 3,500 to 5,500 CFA francs per person or in kind rations consisting of 7 kg of cereals, 2 kg of pulses, 0.5 kg of oil, and 0.2 kg of salt per person. According to estimates made on the basis of this ration, more than 37,000 kilocalories (kcal) are provided monthly and individually to 261,000 people, covering 67 percent of people and 58 percent of their food needs. The beneficiary populations represent approximately 31 percent of the total population of the Diffa region. According to interviews with assistance implementation partners, the situation of humanitarian interventions in the Diffa region is similar to that of the Maradi region. In the regions of Tillabéry and Tahoua, where assistance needs are acute, similar to those in the regions of Diffa and Maradi, humanitarian organizations report having the necessary stocks and funding for the implementation of assistance distributions to households in need. However, military operations and other security measures limit access to areas hosting targeted populations.
Current Food Security Outcomes
In the Tillabéry and Tahoua regions, cereal stocks are depleted for most households following insufficient harvests due to unfavorable weather conditions and decreased cultivated areas due to insecurity. Consumer prices remain on a sustained upward trend. Income-earning opportunities are reduced due to insecurity, which has decreased labor opportunities, and there is intense competition for other income-generating activities due to the increased presence of poor households as a result of the displacement of persons. In these areas, displaced and resident poor households have depleted their cereal stocks due to harvests that covered less than three months of consumption. At the same time, their access to food on the markets is reduced due to very high prices. Also, ongoing military operations in these areas prevent access to populations for food aid. Poor households, both displaced and residents, are experiencing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes characterized by inadequate food consumption, with households reducing meals to only one or two per day and some household members resorting to begging.
In the regions of Diffa and Maradi, food security conditions are unfavorable, similar to those prevailing in the regions of Tillabéry and Tahoua, and poor households heavily rely on food aid to meet their caloric needs. However, there is a strong presence of humanitarian actors with significant humanitarian intervention capacities, and there are no restrictive security measures for food aid operations. Poor displaced and refugee households regularly receive monthly food rations, allowing them to transition to Stressed! (IPC Phase 2!) outcomes.
In the rest of the country, budget constraints have prevented food aid from being provided to populations, the majority of whom lack livelihood protections. As a result, these households are facing Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes.
Source link : https://fews.net/west-africa/niger/food-security-outlook/february-2024
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Publish date : 2024-02-24 08:00:00
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