Rowa, 33, a mother of six and leader of a local women’s group, was displaced by floods in Boudouri, which destroyed her home. Health services are limited since her community’s health center closed. OCHA/Ibrahim Bana Adamou
Niger faces a multidimensional crisis stemming from extreme climate events, growing insecurity, rapid population growth, and chronic poverty. With low resilience to shocks, the county remains highly vulnerable. By 30 September 2024, Niger registered 507,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), marking a 12 per cent increase from the previous year. The Tillabéri and Diffa regions are hardest hit, hosting nearly 78 per cent of all IDPs, while the previously unaffected Dosso region has recently registered around 5,000 IDPs new displacements as of 30 September.
In addition to the deteriorating security situation, severe flooding has further intensified the crisis, impacting over 1.4 million people nationwide. The regions of Maradi (314,000 people), Zinder (264,000 people) and Tillaberi (248,000 people), make up 51 per cent of those impacted. These floods have exacerbated the already challenging humanitarian situation, causing widespread displacement, damaging infrastructure, and worsening food security.
Diffa Region, Niger
Hassan, 66, a community leader in Yambal, supports refugees and supports local development through Niger’s Flagship Initiative. His community urgently needs secure land for vulnerable families, socio-economic support, protection awareness, and accountability through community feedback.
OCHA/Temur Sharopov
The education sector has also been hit hard by shocks. Although in 2024 the number of school closures decreased from 2023, 779 schools remain closed due to insecurity, affecting about 66,650 students, including 34,500 girls. Recent flooding damaged 5,520 classrooms while 1,969 classrooms are now occupied by displaced families. Consequently, Niger postponed the start of the school year by one month, impacting the education of an estimated 330,000 children on top of those already affected by insecurity.
Beyond education, health and food security are also under severe strain. Over 436,000 children under the age of 5 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. According to the November 2023 ‘Cadre Harmonisé’, 3.2 million people are severely food insecure (IPC 3 crisis phase and above). Flooding has exacerbated this situation, destroying an estimated 23,000 hectares of crops and jeopardizing food security.
Niger also reported 1,002 Cholera cases with 21 deaths across 13 of its 72 health districts. These compounding crises have significantly reduced the purchasing power of vulnerable communities, who consistently identify food assistance as their primary need during community consultations.
Diffa Region, Niger
Young children in N’Guigmi, Diffa benefit from Niger’s Flagship Initiative. As part of the Flagship Initiative, community consultations were held to better understand and address the needs of local communities affected by displacement and insecurity. These consultations are a crucial step toward strengthening community resilience and ensuring that humanitarian aid is aligned with local priorities.
OCHA/Temur Sharopov
Response priorities in 2025
For 2025, a boundary-setting process was undertaken to focus on the most vulnerable people in departments affected by humanitarian shocks. This approach identified 2.7 million people in need across 31 of the country’s 65 departments. As part of scaling up the flagship initiative, the Niger Humanitarian Country Team has adopted a hybrid planning approach that consists of developing its response plan based on needs expressed by the most affected communities through direct local consultations.
The estimated number of people in need (PiN) for 2025 shows a significant 41.2 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. This reduction is primarily due to a refined scope of analysis, which now includes five humanitarian regions (Diffa, Tahoua, Maradi, Tillaberi and Dosso) concerning the 31 most affected departments. In line with the Joint Inter-Sectoral Analysis Framework 2.0 methodology, refugees have been excluded from IASC cluster PiN estimates to prevent duplication and are now counted solely within the refugee response plan figures. Additionally, returnees who were previously classified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been also reclassified as part of host communities based on official statistics. These methodological changes have contributed to the overall reduction in the PiN estimate which now targets 1.68 million people for humanitarian assistance in 2025.
Kargawar village, Ngourti, Diffa Region, Niger
Women collect water from the "Well of Peace," established through the RECOSOC project to provide safe drinking water. This well has become a lifeline for the community, improving daily access to water and strengthening local resilience in the midst of challenging conditions.
Oxfam/Halimatou Saadiya Tankari
Financial requirements
For 2025, Niger’s humanitarian response plan has been carefully calibrated to address the needs of the most vulnerable. The total financial requirements to cover the target population are estimated at $386.5 million, representing a significant 41.6 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. This reduction is primarily due to a 41 per cent decrease in the target population, reflecting a more focused approach in the HNRP, which now covers only five humanitarian regions. Financial requirements were estimated using a unit-based approach, deriving a unit cost per person by averaging the financial requirements per person targeted over the past four years in Niger. This average cost is then applied to the current target population to determine the total financial needs. This methodology ensures a more precise estimate of financial requirements, closely aligned with the expressed needs of the most affected people.1
Niger
2024 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
As of 30 September 2024, humanitarian partners in Niger have reached 3 million people across at least one sector, representing 79 per cent of the 2024 HNRP target. This achievement is notable, especially considering that only 45% of the required funding has been reported. This discrepancy between the high number of people assisted and the relatively low funding level could be attributed to two main factors. First, the clusters may have included non-HNRP projects in their reported estimates, potentially inflating the number of people reached. Secondly, there might be underreporting of funded projects in the UN Financial Tracking System, leading to an inaccurate representation of the actual funding received. These factors highlight the need for more accurate reporting and tracking mechanisms to ensure a clear understanding of the humanitarian response’s reach and funding status.
Consequences of inaction
In the aftermath of the July 2023 coup d'état, Niger’s new authorities implemented measures that restrict the movement of humanitarian actors within the country. These administrative constraints have delayed or prevented the delivery of essential services, exacerbating the suffering and vulnerability of affected communities. Additionally, these restrictions have driven up the cost of humanitarian operations, as humanitarian organizations are forced to adopt adaptive measures such as using fixed instead of mobile teams capable of serving multiple sites.
To ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, the government has imposed armed escorts in all areas of military operations. This requirement affects the entire Tillabéri region and parts of Tahoua, Diffa and Maradi, and more recently, the entire Dosso region. In certain regions, Governors now require the presence of a representative of the prefecture during field missions carried out by humanitarian organizations. The costs associated with their presence, along with those of armed escorts, are drawn from the limited funding available. This significantly impacts the funds available for direct assistance to people in need of lifesaving assistance, but also contravenes humanitarian principles. The situation is further complicated by the verbal transmission of government decisions and impositions. creating confusion among humanitarian workers.
These constraints have severely impacted humanitarian reach to people in need and hindered vulnerable communities’ ability to obtain basic essential services for their survival. Consequently, from 1 January to 31 July 2024, at least 1,112,546 people in need did not receive or faced delays in receiving critical life-saving humanitarian assistance, including more than 600,000 in the food security sector. Moreover, over 80,000 malnourished children have been left without necessary care.2
References
The budget is based on a unit-based approach. At the end of community consultations analysis, the final budget will be based on activities that respond to the humanitarian needs expressed by the communities, with consideration of other emergency activities to respond to possible shocks that could affect the humanitarian context during the year.
Data from the document "Compiled file of the consequences of inaction" as of July 31, 2024.