Father of eight, Alhou Abdou. © Ibrahim Niandou/CARE
“We are in a situation of famine. No words exist to describe the tragedy happening in the houses you see here,” says 46-year-old dad of eight Alhou Abdou.
The lack of rainfall and the invasion of insects led to a reduction in food production by 60 per cent in Abdou’s village of Moujia, located between Konni and Tahoua, central Niger.
“Usually, when our fields don’t produce enough, we have the Anza harvest left, but this wild plant was attacked by parasites,” said Alhou. Alhou harvested 30 bunches of millet (about 375kg of grains) in October 2009.
This stock supported his household until March 2010. Now, he and his family struggle to cope each morning to survive. Alhou sells his labour, carrying out small works in the few construction sites that exist.
Or he sells water, which is also a scarce resource in Moujia, as the village well dries up. Everybody gets water supply from the few private wells identified by the big tyres around, protecting them.
CARE has already begun targeted food distributions in partnership with the Niger government, and the World Food Program (WFP). The food distributions aim at addressing the needs of 1.5 million people rendered extremely vulnerable by the food crisis in Niger.
In December, a Government survey, found that about 20 per cent of the population in Niger is in a situation of vulnerability. In order to survive, some families had to adopt coping strategies such as reducing the number of meals per day, or leaving their village.
CARE has already begun distribution of 2000 tons of cereals to more than 18,000 households in 623 villages in the Illéla and Dakoro districts for this emergency operation. The most vulnerable households registered by the field teams will receive 100 kg of cereals each, for a household of seven people, during the first phase.
Hadja, Alhou’s wife, is a member of the Mata Masu Dubara (MMD) group, but the cereal bank that this women’s network established is not opened yet. CARE Niger designed a plan for its contribution to the national emergency plan.
The village of Moujia and Alhou’s household are taken into account in this plan but your help is needed to help fund the plan.
Make a donation to our Niger Crisis Fund
