Insiya Salam, a charity worker for Manchester-based charity Human Appeal, has called on the world to “not forget about the humanitarian crisis” affecting Niger, following her trip to the country.

 

Ms Salam announced she plans to support projects in partnership with district health centres in tackling child malnutrition and to distribute emergency relief in refugee and settlement camps in the impoverished African state.
The landlocked West African country is one of the world’s poorest nations, ranked 188th out of 188 countries in the 2015 UN Human Development Index. Of the 20million people living in Niger, 3.5million – more than 1 in 6 – of whom are food insecure.
Insiya is the Programmes Coordinator for the humanitarian aid charity, Human Appeal. She said on return from her trip to West Africa. “Niger faces internal issues such as high levels of food insecurity due to external shocks as a result of climate change, drought or conflict – according to UNOCHA statistics 3.5 million people in Niger are food insecure. The country also suffers chronic malnutrition with 1.3 million children malnourished in 2015; USAID data shows that over 40 percent of children under 5 are chronically malnourished.”
She added “High levels of food insecurity is not the only reason that Niger has rates of global acute malnutrition that reach emergency thresholds, speaking with UN staff it is clear thatcultural practices and behaviour also plays a large role, and a holistic approach needs to be taken to address these issues.”
The 33-year-old from West Didsbury, Greater Manchester, also spoke on the issue of the inequality women face in Niger, “The country also faces other issues such as high infant mortality rates, a weak education system, rapid population growth, and gender inequality.

 On 8th March 2016, International Women’s Day, I went to visit the Minister of Planning and Community Development – Madam Ibrahim Binta Fodi. I asked her how she felt about the issue of gender equality in a country where 75 percent of girls are married before the age of 18 and the rate of girls enrolled in secondary education is as low as only 10 percent. She talked in length about how the government wants to improve the condition of women and increase child protection, about projects initiated by the government to enable girls to continue with their studies and the introduction of laws which makes it illegal to marry a girl under the age of 18.”

Insiya added, “Despite these efforts it is clear that much work still needs to be done to tackle discrimination and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment – concepts which run through all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
She also spoke of the effect the refugees  from neighbouring countries has had on Niger, “In addition to the recurrent shocks faced by the majority of the population which has eroded their resilience and left them vulnerable, there is also conflict related insecurity which exacerbates the situation in Niger.

A country which is ranked as the least developed country according to the UNDP, Niger is also struggling with tension in the region and is host to refugees from neighbouring Mali and Northern Nigeria. According the UNHCR Niger currently hosts around 55,000 Malian refugees, just under 140,000 refugees from Nigeria and about 50,000 internally displaced Nigeriens. Diffa, in the South East of the country bordering Northern Nigeria, faces a complex situation where many people have been displaced multiple times”


She continued “I visited Sayam Forage Camp in Diffa where the refugees are those who have escaped Boko Haram attacks in Northern Niger; Niger ranks number 1 in terms of need in The Sahel and the need to speed up the mobilisation of resources is imperative.” Insiya added “In 2015 Human Appeal distributed Ramadan food parcels and Qurbani meat to refugees in this camp and we hope to do the same again this year.”

Insiya Salam finished “It is clear that the focus for Niger needs to be on vulnerable people; to target the issues of vulnerability and push towards rehabilitation and resilience. Human Appeal’s focus for Niger in 2016 will concentrate on supporting existing government and multi-sectoral efforts to tackle food insecurity and child malnutrition as well as continuing our emergency relief work in the regions facing insecurity.”

Human Appeal’s plan is to support district health offices in tackling child malnutrition, through training health and community workers, providing logistical support and distributing lifesaving supplies and materials to health centres and stabilisation centres for children suffering from severe malnutrition. On top of this Human Appeal plan to distribute food parcels in the refugee camps during Ramadan.
Othman Moqbel, the CEO of Human Appeal – the charity that Insiya Salam works for – commented on her work in Niger, “Insiya’s analysis of the situation in Niger is as insightful as it is accurate. Hopefully, with Insiya leading the way, our work will help combat the crises crippling Niger.”

Mr Moqbel continued “Unfortunately it seems, whilst the mainstream consciousness only has room for one disaster at a time, the reality is the world has no limit on the amount of suffering ongoing at any moment. Currently the focus is all on the crisis in Syria. But be under no illusion that the crisis in Syria is the only crises in the world. We, at Human Appeal, are helping fight suffering anywhere and everywhere. As well as delivering food, medical aid and shelter to the people of Syria, we are also helping people in desperation globally. Whether that is in Niger, Bangladesh, Palestine, we are fighting disaster wherever and whenever we find it and we won’t stop until we beat adversity into extinction.”

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