2023-09-02 11:00:23
Before the coup, Niger was already one of the countries the poorest in the worldvictim of the violent effects of climate change and struggling against the regional presence of armed groups.
The most vulnerable Nigeriens, often far from the capital where the future of the country is at stake, risk suffering even more from this political instability. As Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Niger, I am gravely concerned about this and the response of the international community to this coup.
Yet progress had been made: gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 7.2% in 2022 and is expected to reach nearly 12% in 2024. Attacks by armed groups against civilians continued to decline, to so much so that concrete plans were underway for the return to their homes of the 350,000 internally displaced persons. These advances are now under threat, and humanitarian needs risk exploding if the response fails to take into account the vulnerability of civilians.
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In response to the July 26 coup, the international community reacted in three main ways:
– The regional organization of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed severe economic sanctions and border closures;
– she threatened to intervene militarily to restore constitutional order;
– and donor countries have suspended, to varying degrees, their aid to Niger.
All of these decisions could have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for the people my organization serves.
Food insecurity
Even before the current crisis, around 3.3 million people, or 13% of the population, were living in food insecurity. In the week following the announcement of the sanctions, the average price of rice increased by 20%. Local farmers and herders are seeing their livelihoods dwindle at this critical time when granaries are empty as harvest approaches.
They rely heavily on regional trade, and these months are traditionally rich in cross-border trade. Border closures only worsen the crisis, preventing vital humanitarian deliveries from reaching the communities that need them most. Nearly 820 tons of food security goods are blocked at the Niger-Beninese border.
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Organizations like the IRC can no longer ship vital supplies. We are expecting nutritional supplements for 2,300 children, but we do not know when we will receive them. We have reserves, but they are in dire danger of running out.
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