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UNITED NATIONS UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS BEGINS FIRST VISIT TO AFRICA

Countries
Niger
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

(Niamey/New York, 14 October 2010): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos today arrived in Niger. With nearly seven million people affected by hunger, Niger has been one of the biggest humanitarian crises in Africa in 2010, however the situation has started to stabilize.

A decline in cereal production of over 410,000 tons and a fodder shortage led to a severe food and nutritional crisis, the second in five years. Livestock, a mainstay of household livelihoods, has been also severely affected. Recognizing the gravity of the crisis, the Government of Niger called for international support through an emergency action plan requiring US$358 million. As of today, the country has received over $255 million. These contributions have allowed United Nations agencies and national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to undertake life-saving activities. Over 220,000 children under five years of age have been treated for severe malnutrition since the beginning of the crisis.

During her three-day visit, Ms. Amos will meet representatives of the Government of Niger, the United Nations, national and international NGOs, and other humanitarian partners. She will visit Zinder and Diffa regions, which are some of the most affected areas by the crisis, to review humanitarian activities and prospects for improving the humanitarian situation. She will also ask donors to provide more assistance to the country, which will still need to confront the lingering effects of this crisis next year.

The visit will also help focus the international community's attention on the Sahel, the West African region that is home to some of the world's poorest countries whose economies are highly dependent on agriculture. In 2010, over ten million people have been affected by the crisis in the Sahel, including nearly two million people in neighboring Chad.

With an average of one food crisis every three years, Niger last faced a food crisis in 2005, when over three million people were threatened by hunger. These crises have recurred over the past three decades, affecting both daily livelihoods and longer-term development prospects. According to the United Nations Development Program, Niger is the least developed country in the world.

"Our efforts have helped save lives, but thousands more are under threat. We must ensure that the voice of those suffering the most are heard and that their most pressing needs are met. We also need to learn the lessons from these continuing crises and build the capacities of countries in the Sahel to prevent them from relapsing on a regular basis," Ms. Amos said as she started her mission.

For further information, please call:Yvon Edoumou, OCHA-ROWCA, mobile +227 96 00 94 98, edoumou@un.org; Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or http://ochaonline.un.org/rowca

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.