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updated Sep 2007 |
Each year in Niger the most severe forms of acute malnutrition affect
more than 100,000 children aged 3 years or less, and each year about
190,000 children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and associated
diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea. The under-5 mortality rate
in Niger is 1 in 4 children, or 259 per 1000 live births.
 Niger – Acute
malnutrition: 2007 showing worrying trends › feature › June
2007
Niger:
Is the struggle against acute malnutrition in Niger gaining ground? Apr
07
Nutrition:
Niger, No. 4 › Newsletter › Jan 2007
Sydney
nurse in southern Niger 23/11/06
Nutrition:
Niger No. 3 › Newsletter › Oct 2006
MSF
doctors in Niger discuss the organisations new approach to malnutrition › Audio
slideshow › Sep 2006
Robin
Sands is responsible for the food supply of MSF nutritional programs
in Maradi Sep 2006
MSF
Assesses Child Malnutrition Situation in Niger Sep
06
Nutrition:
Niger No. 2 › Newsletter › Aug 2006
Nutrition:
Niger No. 1 › Newsletter › May 2006
Niger:
what next after 2005? Feb 06
The
scale and severity of the nutritional crisis Feb
06
Faulty
judgments and inadequate responses Feb 06
A
simple cure for malnutrition Feb 06
Nutritional
Situation Remains Worrying Dec 05
Niger
- The crisis is far from over Oct 05
Update
on MSF response to Niger nutritional crisis 11/09/05
MSF
repeats call for rapid mobilisation of aid agencies to increase
assistance in areas of acute malnutrition 13/09/05
Yellow
ankle bands mean eligibility for food Aug 05
Lack
of access to health care is a primary cause 30/08/05
MSF
Appeals to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan 23/08/05
UN
food distributions in Niger not reaching those with greatest
needs 22/08/05
Australian
emergency workers respond to Niger’s food crisis 17/08/05
Therapeutic
food should be considered an essential medicine 12/08/05
August
will be the worst month 06/08/05
The
first food distribution in Dan Issa Aug 05
Pay
or die – Niger’s Food Crisis Jul 05
Niger
food crisis: Pay or die Jul 05
MSF
therapeutic feeding center, Maradi 09/06/05
MSF
calls for free food distribution 09/06/05
Project:
Malnutrition in Niger Jun 05
Feature:
Malnutrition in Niger 16/05/05
Alarming
increase in malnutrition May 05
Niger experienced a major malnutrition crisis in 2005. Consequently,
during that year and then also throughout 2006,
MSF intervened so as to dramatically expand the way malnutrition is treated
in children in Maradi. In order to try to
break the cycle of endemic malnutrition, MSF made extensive use of “Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-
Foodstuffs”,
or RUTFs.
These nutrient-rich RUTFs, "designed for rapid weight gain, do
not require preparation or the
addition of water, and the energy-dense paste is impossible to
contaminate. They are tailored for malnourished children with poor
appetites and small stomachs who need to consume high quantities
of calorie. These factors make such products ideal for
outpatient use...”
Dr Milton Tectonidis, MSF Nutrition Expert
The efficacy of this new approach in the treatment of malnutrition on
a large scale is now proven, but one major obstacle that remains is the
price. With further data analysis MSF hopes to convince other major organisations
and national partners to join an international campaign to reduce the
costs of RUTFs as patented and to develop future generic versions
which would be cheaper.
James Nichols, MSF Australia Press & Information
Officer visited Niger, September 2006
I met Hadiza, a 38-year-oldmother of six children,
patiently awaiting for the discharge of her two-year old boy from MSF's
intensive care in Maradi. “Last
year was catastrophic formy family. I was obliged to come into town and
beg for food in order to feed my children,” she
explained. Now, fortunately for her son, Mougihadou, his severe diarrhoea
could be treated easily and they could receive a daily ration of therapeutic
food to assist his recovery. “I am very happy – I’ve
seen a quick recovery... and I am very happy with the child's health
now.”
Malnutrition is endemic in Niger, it occurs year-long and particularly
in the south and poorest part of the country. It is not linked to
any deficit in agricultural production, but rather to an economic
system which promotes a free-market approach to the purchase of food,
resulting in high prices.
The peak period for fatalities due to malnutrition among Maradi
children occurs during the “hunger gap”period, from May
to October, when the crop stores of millet and sorghum have all been
sold and can’t be replenished until the next harvest. |
 Read more from
the special report on Malnutrition
Emergency Response 2005-06
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