ReliefWeb

In Numbers

2,248 mt of food assistance distributed in May

US$ 417,318 cash-based transfers in May

US$ 12.3 m five months (August-December 2019) net funding requirements

1,040,704 people assisted from January to May 2019

Strategic Updates

• WFP is assessing results of the introduction of a scheme of cash payments to schools participating in the school feeding programme instead of food delivery. WFP brought together representatives of government counterparts, school canteen management committees, farmer associations and traders to discuss their experiences. Participants agreed on the relevance of the scheme which needs to be further strengthened to reinforce the potential for home-grown school meals resourced from local economy actors and to reduce the administrative burden.

• WFP is exploring various means of introducing new cash-based delivery mechanisms such as mobile money, as well as working with other partners to understand the potential to use common contractual arrangements for cash delivery and to promote financial inclusion.

• WFP is supporting the Government and African Union (AU)-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) on the organisation of sideevent on home grown school feeding during the AU summit in Niamey.

Operational Updates

Crisis Response

• WFP launched the 2019 lean season assistance (June to August) and is implementing 20 percent of the Government’s lean season assistance with a geographical focus on conflict-affected areas in Tillabéry, Tahoua and Diffa region. Distributions are carried out either in cash or in in-kind transfer modality.

• In response to the arrival of about 20,000 Nigerian refugees in the Maradi region, WFP, in coordination with UNHCR and local authorities, delivered 276 mt of food to six distribution sites near the villages currently still hosting the refugees. The security situation does not allow a shift to cash-based assistance as was initially foreseen. The second round of assistance in July will remain in kind.

• Access to the conflict-affected Malian border area is increasingly interrupted due to the escalation of violent attacks. While the government had agreed to no longer require military escorts for humanitarian missions, imposed in early May. WFP was able to resume food aid distributions to Malian refugees in the Maingaizé and Ayérou camps, to IDPs and vulnerable host populations.

• In Diffa, the introduction of cash-based assistance to Nigerian refugees in camp Sayam Forage, initially foreseen for this month, was postponed to August 2019 in order to inform and sensibilize refugees for the change of modality.

Integrated Resilience-Building Package

• The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Niger was given a tour of WFP’s intervention site in Wacha, Zinder region, in partnership with Karkara. This visit was also an opportunity to discuss complementarities with GIZ projects in different areas. WFP has received a multi-year contribution from Germany to implement a scale-up of its integrated multi-sectorial resilience-building activities.

• Food assistance for assets (FFA) – WFP’s NGO partners received trainings on gender and protection aspects ahead of this year’s unconditional distributions during the lean season. Trainings covered various issues, such as protection from sexual exploitation, humanitarian principles and complaints mechanisms.

• Nutrition – During the lean season, WFP and UNICEF are distributing folic acid and iron supplementation aiming at reaching 12,780 adolescent school girls to prevent iron deficiency and anaemia in three communes in the Maradi region and three in the Zinder region, the regions most affected by acute malnutrition.

Humanitarian-Development Nexus

• WFP is a very active member in the Government’s working groups on implementation of the nexus roadmap. The working groups are meant to identify priority geographical areas, appropriate nexus practices and coordination mechanisms.