UNICEF in Niger
Climate change impacts and political instability are driving humanitarian needs in Niger. What UNICEF is doing to help save and protect children and families.
Crisis for children in Niger
Humanitarian needs in Niger, a landlocked West African nation with a population of 27 million, increased in the wake of civil unrest and related events in the summer of 2023. Political instability, sanctions and border closures made it difficult for humanitarian aid to get through.
The crisis exacerbated an already dire situation in a nation where severe child malnutrition has long been prevalent.
Climate change impacts have created long-term challenges. More than 10 million people — nearly 42 percent of the population — live in extreme poverty. The country has a high unemployment rate and lacks any type of social safety net for struggling families.
Needs in Niger mounting due to conflict, climate shocks
With three-quarters of its territory located in the Saharan desert, Niger has long been on the front lines of the climate crisis. The country suffers from severe drought as well as flooding.
A refugee crisis persists at and around Niger's borders due to regional instability and displacement, the result of conflict between armed groups in neighboring Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Nigeria. A large refugee and migrants population strains host communities.
An estimated 2.6 million people, including 1.5 million children, require urgent assistance, including emergency water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, nutrition support to address widespread malnutrition and education support to provide children with learning opportunities as hundreds of schools remain closed due to insecurity and flood damage.
How UNICEF is helping children in Niger
UNICEF uses a comprehensive approach to address children's needs countrywide, balancing immediate crisis response efforts with long-term systems strengthening through decentralized service delivery and local coordination.
UNICEF works with local authorities and non-governmental organizations to ensure timely aid delivery, working to pre-position essential supplies at the community level and coordinating across critical sectors while also working to strengthen resilience.
Efforts include:
- deploying mobile health clinics to improve access to essential services, including immunization
- treating children suffering from severe wasting and supporting infant feeding
- supporting WASH initiatives to ensure access to safe water and sanitation, with a special focus on preventing cholera
- helping to reopen closed schools and ensuring safe learning environments for students
- supporting community-based mental health and psychosocial support services, including by deploying mobile teams of social workers and psychologists to humanitarian zones
- strengthening child protection — especially for unaccompanied and separated children, those needing case management and those at risk of association with armed groups
- addressing gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse
Working in communities to safeguard children's rights
UNICEF also supports national and community efforts to address harmful gender norms and to prevent child marriage through community mobilization. This entails working at the community level with adolescents, religious and traditional leaders, community and women’s organizations and schools.
In Niger, 3 in 4 girls are married before age 18, and 1 in 4 before age 15.
Fatoumata was only 12 years old when her father told her he wanted to marry her off to a cousin in a remote village. Her mother intervened, and with the help of UNICEF, she was able to escape the situation and now lives with her mother and grandmother.
“I remember, it was during the holidays, I was supposed to go to school but my dad said it was time to get married," Fatoumata recalled. "I didn't even understand what marriage meant at the time."
Her dream is to become a doctor. "I do want to get married one day," she says, "but after school and with a boy I choose myself."
Learn more about what UNICEF is doing to help children grow up healthy, educated, respected and protected. Support UNICEF's mission. Your contribution makes a difference. Donate today.
