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 »
Boko Haram’s Devastating Impact
By Chidiebere Aguziendu & SatyaLakshmi Settem Source: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Boko Haram insurgency began in 2015 in the border region of Diffa. Though the attacks decreased in 2017 and 2018, the end of 2018 and 2019 saw an increase in violent attacks in the region. It has led to the death of… 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 »
The Tuareg and Agadez
By Talei Caucau Niger, West Africa, is not a place visited by many tourists, because there is not much to see, except for the northern part, most notably Agadez and the vast expanse of desert that lies beyond it, known as The Air. Agadez is an ancient and important market town located in the desert,… Read more »
The Last Master: Malam Mamane Barka
By Elsa Sichrovsky In the 1980s, a teenaged teacher would often entertain locals in the town of Tesker, Niger by playing the ngurumi, a traditional instrument with a calabash shell body and iguana skin head[1] that is often used by the Toubou people of northern Niger. The Toubou schoolteacher went on to become headmaster of a… Read more »
Causes of Child Marriage and the Bigger Picture
By Michelle Nelson von Euw A great deal of research has been done on child marriage in an effort to understand the causes, and effects, of this damaging practice. Child marriage refers to both formal and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with partners as if they are married. According… Read more »
