Program Details: 
Niger: Promoting Healthy, Strong and Independent Communities

Niger is ranked by the United Nations Development Program among the poorest countries in the world, with at least 56 percent of the population living below the World Bank’s $1 per day poverty calculation. A landlocked country that suffers from encroaching deserts, Niger struggles with ongoing food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

Mercy Corps has worked in Niger since 2005, when we launched our programs to help address malnutrition among children under five. Today, our programs in rural and urban
communities promote health and nutrition, food security, economic development, good governance and youth employment.

Improving Nutrition and Community Health
Between 2005 and 2008, Mercy Corps – in partnership with public health staff in Filingué and Loga Departments and in Niamey’s peri-urban communities – provided logistical and
technical support to ensure therapeutic treatment for 60,000 malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women.

Mercy Corps has recently expanded its nutrition intervention into a comprehensive community-based health program to address the more systemic causes of malnutrition and to focus efforts on prevention.

Mercy Corps is improving maternal and child health by supporting community networks for
the early detection of malnutrition and childhood illness. We’re also strengthening the capacities of local health workers, community volunteers and local government entities, reaching more than 370,000 people in 547 villages.

Fostering Economic Development
Complementing efforts to improve community health, Mercy Corps is also working to strengthen livelihoods in the communities where we work. We’re providing vocational
training for women and youth, sub-grants for community-based health and nutrition-related
activities, and promoting savings and credit among women. These activities are helping
communities bring to fruition such locally managed projects as repairing wells, making improvements to health center infrastructure and community gardening.

Poultry and Milk: Nutritious Food and a Good Business Opportunity
In 40 rural villages Mercy Corps is introducing household poultry production, training in
veterinary services and marketing techniques. The project aims to increase access to food
while also boosting households’ ability to weather future emergencies. It provides families with an important source of protein as well as much-needed secondary income.

To support the urban populations that have been most affected by the rise in global food
prices, Mercy Corps is helping revitalize milk production by strengthening the management of Niamey’s principal dairy. This program will make fresh milk more available to women
entrepreneurs from one of Niamey’s poorest neighborhoods. Our goal, again, is to increase
the household income of vulnerable families and to improve the general public’s access to
milk, a nutritious food.

Job Training and Life Skills for Youth
In 2007, Mercy Corps spearheaded a focus on opportunities for vulnerable youth in Niger. We are offering vocational and life skills training and micro-credit opportunities to 300 youth in the Agadez region.

Over the next two years, we will extend these activities to an additional 2,000 youth in the
Agadez and Tahoua regions. Through this program, we are increasing the number and
preparedness of local entrepreneurs and skilled technicians, so they can earn more income to support their families.

Promoting Good Governance
Mercy Corps is working in partnership with Niger’s communes (local-level administrative
districts) to promote the participation of municipal officials in the design, implementation and monitoring of development activities.

For instance, Commune Health Commissions review and analyze grant proposals and
contribute to annual health service planning and medical evacuation procedures. This
involvement ensures that elected officials are informed and that they’re able to advocate for
community health needs and mobilize the resources required to meet them.

Mercy Corps also promotes youth involvement in civic affairs and helps youth connect with the needs of the commune. We’re involving youth in such activities as sanitation, HIV/AIDS and anti-tobacco/drug awareness campaigns.