Emergency support for Niger

Save the Children International has been awarded £100,000 by the Scottish Government to help communities affected by devastating floods in Niger.

Funding from the Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF) will support two of the charity’s projects in the West African country, delivering food supplies and helping vulnerable children.

Torrential rains in August and September resulted in large-scale flooding of the Niger River causing enormous damage to surrounding communities.

More than 500,000 people have been affected, with 39,000 houses damaged, 9,000 hectares of farmland swamped and thousands of livestock killed.

Vital infrastructure including health care, water and sanitation facilities have been damaged or destroyed.

International Development Minister Jenny Gilruth said:

“Since August, the Niger has been facing the worst floods in its history.

“The lives of hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted by the flooding, adding to the distress already caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

“The Humanitarian Emergency Fund stands ready to help when confronted with such an emergency.

“The Scottish Government is committed to fulfilling its role as a responsible and compassionate global citizen, and this aid will provide essential help to those who are in desperate need.”

Save the Children’s Head of Scotland Claire Telfer said:

“This funding from Scottish Government will make a massive difference to the people in Niger, whose lives have been devastated by its worst floods in decades.

“This crisis has impacted on the economy, food insecurity and loss of income, made worse due to the pandemic, making it even harder to address the impact of severe flooding in one of the world’s poorest countries.

“The contribution will provide vulnerable families with food as well as child protection, with eight child friendly spaces where children can go to feel safe.

“Although there’s a long road ahead for the families in Niger, support like this will go a long way to aiding their recovery and allowing them to pick up the pieces.”

Background

The funding will support two projects run by Save the Children.

One will focus on distributing food kits to 1,510 most vulnerable households in Maradi region, reaching 10,500 people, including more than 5000 children.

Another project will support 1900 children with additional support needs, increase awareness of child protection issues and support families affected by child abuse or exploitation.

Both projects will start immediately and will run for three months.

This is the third time HEF funding has been approved in 2020-21.

In July, £240,000 was allocated to the Disasters Emergency Appeal to help vulnerable communities cope with coronavirus (COVID-19) and in September, £300,000 was allocated following the explosion in Beirut.