Groups of women in Niger are staving off the worst of the food crisis

10 August 2005

Set up by CARE International, the small savings and loans groups – effectively community banking systems – are acting as a buffer against hunger, because their members have been able to save money and grain together over the past few years.

Loetitia Raymond, a spokeswoman for CARE International in Niger, said women in these savings and loans groups have been better able to survive the food crisis than many others, as they share their stocks of grain with each other, and have drawn on their financial savings.

Speaking following a visit to the village of Harounaya, in the Maradi region of Niger, she said: “The women I met in the savings groups are much less affected by the crisis than those who are not. There is a really strong community spirit between them.

“When the crisis began, some members of the group who traded cereals sold part of their stock at a low price to other women in the group who were without food and were unable to afford to buy it at full price.

“And the good thing is that when the harvest season comes, they will be able to reimburse the millet they bought, because of the savings they have made in the past. So although obviously the crisis has hit these people, the savings groups are much better off than those who have not been able to save.”

Known as Mata Masu Dubara (MMD) – ‘women on the move’ in the west African language Hausa – savings and loans groups are made up of communities of women who commit to saving a fixed amount of money on a regular basis. Together, the group saves a pot of money from which they draw out loans to start small businesses, such as buying and selling sacks of grain, or chickens. Profit is then fed back in to the group pot, which can again be used for larger loans for other business ventures, or where the need arises.

Around 172,000 women across Niger are members of CARE’s MMD groups, which generate around £3million each year.

As this crisis started to unfold last year, many MMD groups sold their millet stocks at a low price and in credit, instead of selling at market price and to generate a profit. In the Tahoua region, women sold seeds to farmers at a moderate price to buy precious time in the race to plant next year’s crop. Many groups in the Diffa region have also suspended saving payments to allow their members to cope with the crisis.

The MMD groups have also played a central role in helping to distribute food to those hit hardest by the food shortages in Niger.

Moira Eknes, a CARE programme co-ordinator for West and Southern Africa said the leaders of these groups are key players in distributing food in the Diffa region, because they have drawn up complete lists of residents in each village and made note of the most vulnerable, helping CARE distribute food quickly to those who need it most.

She said: “The solidarity between the networks of people was amazing. On one occasion, several people came to a food distribution site who weren’t expected, but the women organised it so everyone got food. The men are still encouraging the women to meet, even if they have no money to save, because the group is such a strong community.”

Notes to Editors

Around 3.6 million people in Niger - and 30 million across East, West & Southern Africa - are facing serious food shortages. More than 60 per cent of the population of Niger live on less than 60p a day and many cannot afford to buy the food that is there.

CARE, which has been working in Niger for more than 30 years and is one of the biggest international organisations currently in West Africa, is distributing 400 metric tones of millet in Diffa, Maradi and Tahoua regions and 130 tonnes of animal fodder in Diffa and Maradi. On August 1, CARE began a nutritional rehabilitation program for about 27,000 moderately malnourished or at-risk children and nearly 17,000 women in Zinder region.

CARE’s long term aim is to help around 850,000 people regain a stable nutritional diet in districts of Tahoua, Maradi, Diffa, Zinder and Tillabéri regions.

About CARE International: CARE International is a global humanitarian organisation working with over 45 million disadvantaged people in 70 of the world's poorest countries. With 60 years experience of delivering emergency aid, CARE can respond quickly anywhere in the world, focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable. To find out more about how CARE is working in Niger and across the world visit www.careinternational.org.uk

About the DEC: The Disasters Emergency Committee is made up of the UK’s leading international development and relief charities. Those involved in the Niger Crisis Appeal are: ActionAid, British Red Cross, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.

As part of the Disasters Emergency Committee, CARE International UK needs funds for urgent relief programmes, including food distribution and therapeutic feeding.

Donations to the DEC Niger Crisis Appeal can be made at: www.dec.org.uk, by phoning the Disasters Emergency Committee on 0870 60 60 900 or by going into any high street post office or bank.

For further information or interviews with spokespeople in the UK or in the field, please contact:

Sophie Kummer, , 0207 934 9347