The Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa releases US$9 million to support the humanitarian response in Niger

Niamey, 2 February 2023 – The Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa (RHFWCA) has allocated $9 million to Niger, of which $6 million will enable emergency response to the most critical needs of displaced populations, returnees, and host communities in the Tillabéri, Tahoua and Maradi regions. Similarly, $3 million will ensure delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people affected by floods in the Tillabéri, Maradi and Zinder regions.

This is the second RHFWCA allocation since the initial funding of $12.5 million was granted to Niger in 2021. This funding targets non-governmental organizations with a particular focus on national and local actors, thus contributing to strengthen localization efforts and humanitarian access in the targeted regions. The priority sectors include emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, protection, health, and food security. The activities within these sectors aim to support emergency response through a multi-sectoral approach and/or an integrated approach, to ensure a holistic response to the identified and prioritized needs.

The humanitarian situation in Niger remains complex due to heightened insecurity, causing an increase in the number of displaced persons. The effects of climate change such as floods and underfunding of the humanitarian response have led to a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, hitting the most vulnerable people hardest.

In January 2023, more than 360,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were registered in Niger; most of whom are in the Diffa (140,593), Tillabéri (128,748) and Tahoua (72,022) regions. This widespread displacement caused by insecurity and the climate crisis, has caused a serious loss in livelihoods for the population whose main activity is agriculture. In 2022, heavy rains that started in July led to flooding and had disastrous consequences for the affected population. As of 18 January, 365,438 people (46,611 households) had been affected by floods including 211 injured people and 195 others killed. About 41,820 houses and 126 classrooms collapsed.

“I am very grateful to donors for their support to the Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa because it is a flexible funding mechanism that ensures an effective, rapid, and coordinated humanitarian response. This allocation will enable frontline humanitarian actors to cover the priority humanitarian needs of the targeted populations”, said Dr. Modibo Traoré, Humanitarian Coordinator (a.i) and OCHA Head of office in Niger.

The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has more than doubled over the past five years, from 1.9 million in 2017 to 4.3 million in early 2023. This year, humanitarian actors are seeking $584 million through the Humanitarian Response Plan to help 2.7 million, most vulnerable people in need of assistance.

Laura Fultang, Public Information Officer, fultangl@un.org, (+227) 99 71 71 39
Modibo Traore, Head of the Bureau, traorem@un.org
Press releases are available on www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int