OCHA calls for urgent aid to Niger to tackle crisis

On January 19, a senior United Nations (UN) humanitarian official called on the international community to urgently increase support for Niger as the country is facing a serious crisis on many fronts.

OCHA kêu gọi viện trợ khẩn cấp để giải quyết khủng hoảng ở Niger

Women and children at a refugee camp in Ouallam, Niger. (Illustration photo. Source: AFP)

In a video appeal from the capital Niamey during a mission to Niger, the Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Edem Wosornu, highlighted the dire situation in the country.

Some 4.3 million people in Niger, more than half of them children, are affected by “conflict, climate-related disasters, poverty and disease” and are in dire straits, she said. A military coup in July 2023 and subsequent political instability have worsened the situation, she said. Wosornu called for urgent aid to the country’s people.

During his visit to Niger, the UN official met with government representatives, aid organizations and affected communities, including a visit to Diffa in Niger's remote southeast.

The region is home to a large number of refugees fleeing Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria. The UN’s humanitarian efforts in Niger require an estimated $662 million, but challenges and difficulties in reaching affected populations pose major obstacles.

According to Ms. Wosornu, without funds and access to people, relief work cannot take place quickly and fully.

According to OCHA, humanitarian workers have provided medicine and health care, as well as nutrition to more than 1,000 people in Tahoua, southwestern Niger, through mobile clinics. Also in the region, the World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing food aid to more than 9,000 refugees from Mali.

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