Niger: 2018 Humanitarian Needs Overview identifies 2.3M people in critical need | WPN World People News

Niger continues to grapple with insecurity, climatic shocks, extreme poverty and lack of basic services and infrastructure. The humanitarian crisis is worsening, with multiple crises in Diffa, Tillabery and Tahoua. In terms of severity, the humanitarian situation remains critical in the Diffa region, with the highest rate of population in need - 50 per cent. However, about 80 per cent of people requiring humanitarian assistance live in other regions of the country.

The growing insecurity along the border with Mali and protracted displacements in Diffa due to Boko Haram attacks further exacerbate a context of sustained poverty, inadequate basic social services and a constantly growing demographic curve.

The number of people in need has reached 2.3 million, an increase of 400,000 during 2017. The analysis of the needs shows the persistence of five major components: food insecurity, malnutrition, epidemics, floods and population movements.

The most acute humanitarian needs are identified in four critical sectors:

Nutrition
1,750,820 million people

Health
1,170,848 million people

Food security
1,421,690 million people

Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH)
1,378,975 million people.

Since the Protection Cluster has expanded its activities throughout the country, it now has needs three times larger than in 2017, when the response was mainly focused on the Diffa region. The needs identified by protection actors for 2018 mainly revolve around the lack of access to social protection services, protection against the risks of human rights violations and from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs