Floods in Niger:
Niger is facing major floods since the beginning of the rainy season. Almost 50,000 people are affected, 22 people died as more than 26,000 animals, and thousands of houses were destroyed. Some areas had more than 150 millimeters of rain within 24 hours. The damage has affected thousands of people all over the country. “We are really worried. Many people have lost everything, their houses and their livelihoods. The rains are expected to continue until the end of September and we are concerned we are going to see much worse,” says Ely Keita, CARE Niger’s Country Director.
Clean water and sanitation assistance is urgently needed to prevent the risk of water-borne disease. In the Maradi region, 944 cases of cholera including 13 deaths have already been reported. The government of Niger has already distributed food. The main needs are continuous supply of food as well as support to help people rebuild and strengthen their houses.
What is CARE Doing?
The CARE team in Niger is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities and other humanitarian actors. With an available stock, CARE plans to distribute aquatabs in Maradi and will also distribute tarpaulins. CARE has also donated pharmaceutical stock (catheter, cotton, doxycyline, erythromycin, infuser, ringer, plaster) and household items such as plastic mats, boilers, buckets and sanitizer to a health center in order to help in the management of 99 cholera cases. ”We would like to expand our work mainly in Zinder, Maradi, Diffa and Niamey where the needs are not sufficiently covered. We hope international assistance will be increased so we can help people in desperate need, and can prepare for a deterioration of the situation,” says Keita.
Since 1974, CARE International in Niger has touched the lives of more than 4 million people through our work empowering women and youth, managing natural resources, promoting food security and nutrition, economic opportunities for youth and interfaith dialogue, adaptation to climate change and responding to emergencies. CARE Niger intends to reach more than 4 million people by 2020 focusing on women, girls, youth and people receiving humanitarian assistance in 110,000 households of Diffa, Maradi, Niamey, Tahoua, Tillabéry, Zinder, Dosso and Agadez regions.
Read more about our work in Niger here.