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Interview with Marta Marañón
Humanitarian Crisis in Niger
Considered the poorest country on the planet by the UNDP Human Development Index, Niger suffered one of the worst crises in the world in 2005-2006. The long period of drought, in conjunction with a plague of locusts, aggravated the food shortage. The desert geography and low levels of development make Niger highly vulnerable to natural hazards. Marta Marañón, Deputy Director of DARA, explains the circumstances that produced the 2005-2006 humanitarian crisis and the challenges the international community faces to promote long term recovery.
Can we say that Niger is facing a long term structural humanitarian crisis?
Due to structural reasons, Niger is chronically in a state of vulnerability, which causes an extremely low degree of human development. Due to this state of chronic vulnerability, quite common in all countries of the Sahel region, natural disasters such as long-term droughts or socio-political and economic factors may trigger emergency situations that severely affect the needs of the most vulnerable. It is then when it can be considered a humanitarian crisis. And when a humanitarian crisis exists, the needs of the affected communities must be addressed and their suffering must be alleviated. In the long term, however, it is necessary to forward the improvement of structural development factors, such as health, education, environment sustainability, economic activities, good governance or infrastructures, to name only a few.
What are the unique characteristics of this crisis?
In 2004, there was a long period of drought, which was later accompanied by a locust plague. These circumstances aggravated the food shortage and increased the price of grain. It must be taken into account that 82% of the population depends on livestock and subsistence farming. But most critical was the fact that 13% of the population, or 2.5 million people suffered acute food insecurity. To make matters worse, aid arrived late and was not delivered properly. Early warning systems had reported unsustainable levels of malnutrition at the end of 2004, but there was no response. The UN appeal to the international community received only 12% of the needed resources. It was not until the BBC broadcasted images of famine that donors actually reacted. The majority of the aid was approved in the fall of 2005, but a large part was not actually disbursed until 2006 and by this point, the needs had changed. Also, aid was mainly food and did not support family livelihoods, which is what really guarantees long-lasting improvement. And this was due to the needs assessments’ single focus on grain deficit and on the market price behaviour.
With characteristics of such magnitude, why is so little known about what occurs in Niger?
Geo-strategically speaking, Niger is not of much interest. Other that uranium reserves that have generated interest from countries such as France or China, Niger lacks mineral and natural resources. There is a very revealing fact from the colonial era that demonstrates that there has never been adequate investment in Niger. At the time Niger gained its independence, France had built only 14 km of paved roads, compared to the more than 1,000 km it had built in the rest of its colonies. After detecting Al-Qaeda cells recently in northern Niger and in other countries in the Sahel region, the United States (the main international aid donor to the country) has shown particular interest in the country. Also, the Government of Niger should be able to recognise the alert indicators and coordinate with international organisations and non-governmental organisations to improve the situation in the country.
How can development be promoted in one of the most arid places on the planet, in which three quarters of the territory are desert and also, is ranked last in the Human Development Index?
Niger needs investment in education, good governance and sustainable development initiatives that slow the environmental degradation caused by deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and desertification. Investment is also needed in infrastructure and, of course, health in order to fight child malnutrition and improve women’s health conditions during pregnancy and the lactation period. It is also necessary to improve transparency, the management of received development funding and mechanisms for accountability to citizens and donors. This year, for example, teachers went on strike to protest what they consider to be poor management of the funding received for education and to demand better salaries.
What is the current situation in Niger?
The figures speak for themselves. I will refer to the 2006 UN Human Development Index and compare the data with Denmark in order to give an idea of the magnitude of the problem. Life expectancy in Niger is 44 years. 60% of the population lives with less than 1 dollar per day. In Niger, there are 3 doctors for every 100,000 people, while in Denmark there are 300. In 1996 to 2004, only 16% of births in Niger took place with the assistance of a qualified healthcare worker. 80% of the population is illiterate; 15% of the women are literate, as compared to 50% of the men. 50% of the population does not have guaranteed access to water. Child mortality affects 259 children under the age of five out of 1,000. In Denmark, the child mortality rate is 5 out of 1,000. In Niger, only 2 people of 1,000 have a telephone in Niger and similarly, only 2 of 1,000 have access to the Internet. All these figures indicate that there are challenges of great magnitude in Niger and strategies must be adopted that reduce poverty and link aid to emergencies, recovery and long-term development.