With a special focus on women and children By Amber Persson Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), the main cause of mortality in children living in areas that are considered at-risk, affects 20-25% of children in Niger. Vitamin A must be acquired through diet and plays a pivotal role in the immune system and visual system. Vitamin… Read more »
Empowering Women and Girls in the Fight Against HIV
By Amber Nicolai Source: NigerTZai, Wikimedia Commons As the global HIV epidemic rages on, young women and adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected. Although women between the ages of 15 and 24 only make up 10% of the region’s population, they account for one in five new HIV cases. Gender disparity plays such… Read more »
A School for “Model Husbands” to Promote Maternal Health
(Excerpted from Le Monde, March 22, 2021, and edited for this format) In Niger, where the fertility rate is seven children per woman, men are called upon to change attitudes. At the end of February, about ten men sat cross-legged on a mat shaded by the foliage of a neem tree. These “model husbands,” were… Read more »
A Hopeful Update on the COVID-19 Outbreak in Niger
By Omair Ali Source: World Health Organization The pandemic has brought immense chaos, uncertainty, and disease worldwide, but Niger has been fortunate to have experienced only a small COVID-19 outbreak so far. As of October 19, 2020, there have been 1,210 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 69 deaths, and 14 active, mild cases [1,2], which is… Read more »
COVID-19’s Severe Impact on Food Insecurity in Niger
By Omair Ali Source: UNICEF Niger//YouTube Like many nations around the globe, Niger is struggling to address many of its ongoing challenges during the pandemic-driven economic meltdown. Before the pandemic struck, many Nigeriens were already struggling to meet their most basic needs, but the economic effects of COVID-19 have made the situation more dire. Perhaps… Read more »
Coronavirus is Impacting Vaccine Programs in Niger, Endangering Children
By Omair Ali The COVID-19 pandemic has put a great strain on Niger by creating massive delays in supply distribution and other hurdles that have been detrimental to communities’ well-being. One, particularly concerning consequence of COVID-19, is that many children have not yet received essential vaccinations, leaving many vulnerable to serious infections. Vaccine-preventable diseases like… Read more »
History Repeats Itself
By Nick Baldry In an effort to encourage you, dear reader, to part with hard-earned cash for a water system for the Kelloum Bawa Health Care Facility in rural Niger, I’m going to take you to… Vienna General Hospital in around 1846. That seems like a logical route, right? Around this time, medicine was progressing… Read more »
Water Project in Niamey
By Chidiebere Aguziendu Source: analogicus Located on the banks of the Niger River, Niamey is Niger’s capital and largest city. From lively markets and ornate mosques to national museums and the striking Niger River, there is much to see and do in Niamey. However, the city offers one less-than-appealing sight as well – heaps of… Read more »
Rethinking Womanhood: Childless in Niger
By Elsa Sichrovsky In a nation where the fertility rate is 7.5 children per woman[1]–the highest in the world–being childless is considered the mark of failure for a woman in Niger. Nigerien movie director Aicha Macky, herself struggling with infertility, bravely tackles the sensitive and painful social and psychological issues surrounding fertility in her first… Read more »
Uranium Mines in Niger: Blessing or Silent Killer?
By Elsa Sichrovsky Source: Marcin Wichary Although nearly 90% of Niger’s population lives without electricity, rich deposits of uranium in the northern regions of the country provide France with nuclear energy for electricity through the French nuclear energy company AREVA, which has been mining in Niger since 1958[1]. One out of every three light bulbs… Read more »
