CRS in Niger

With a life expectancy of 55 years and an adult literacy rate of only 29 percent, the United Nations Human Development Report ranks Niger 187th out of 187 countries. The majority of people in this large, arid country depend on subsistence farming for their food; however, year after year, successful livelihoods are severely limited by a number of factors. Roughly half of the people in Niger do not regularly have enough food to eat. In addition to chronic problems, recent crises such as droughts, floods and instability in neighboring countries have exacerbated problems in a country where challenges already run deep.

Simply having enough food and water is a challenge in Niger. CRS works to provide both immediate and sustainable solutions to food shortages. We work alongside farmers to establish better farming practices and teach business techniques, like how to connect with markets. These efforts help families suffering from chronic malnutrition improve their incomes and strengthen their resilience.

CRS Niger has responded to a variety of crises: providing emergency relief to refugees and displaced people affected by Boko Haram violence, delivering services to refugees from Mali, responding during food shortages, helping people affected by flooding, and addressing migration issues.

To help people increase their resilience against natural disasters, CRS Niger helps communities develop early warning systems that enable families to prepare for storms in advance. We also support community emergency response efforts and develop food security plans.

In both our development and disaster relief programs, CRS Niger improves water, sanitation and hygiene practices. We have established hygiene committees, distributed hygiene kits, delivered potable water, installed water tanks, dug boreholes, rehabilitated wells, and installed latrines, showers and hand-washing stations.

Fewer than 70% of Nigeriens are literate, and primary school enrollment is extremely low. Among our many education initiatives in Niger, we support adult literacy classes and help children of nomadic communities, especially girls, access education.

CRS is also a leader in health in Niger, reducing deaths from malaria by distributing millions of long-lasting, insecticide-treated mosquito nets and reaching hundreds of thousands of children with preventative anti-malaria medicine. We train community health workers and teach families about malaria too.

CRS promotes women’s livelihoods through our Savings and Internal Lending Communities, or SILCs, which help people build their savings and access small loans or emergency grants. SILC groups strengthen communities and enable women to control their own finances, usually for the first time.

Finally, in all of our efforts, CRS Niger addresses the needs of vulnerable people discriminated against due to age, gender, illness or disability. We strive to help people meet their basic needs while working to create a foundation for long-term security, protection and community resilience.

Improving Literacy

Learning to read and write is hard for adults, but it can generate positive effects that ripple through individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. With support from our partners, CRS is helping adolescents and adults improve their reading and writing skills through literacy centers. For the learners, literacy, is seen as a second chance for education after missing their first opportunity at young age. It is also an invaluable opportunity to regain hope and strengthen their resilience through new reading and writing skills.

See how overcoming illiteracy can reduce extreme poverty and restore dignity.

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

Access to Food, Income and Savings

When CRS started working with USAID Food For Peace in Niger, there was widespread and extensive chronic malnutrition. Since then, see how we've helped people grow healthy food, adopt new farming techniques and earn income to save money. The Girma project funded by USAID/PFF is targeting 842,645 new participants to improve their food and nutrition security and build their resilience for the next 5 years.

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

Smart Couples

In Niger, since 2018, more than 1,700 couples (Girma will work with 52,000 couples by the end of the project in 2023) have participated in training to improve communication, which helps strengthen families by empowering them with skills to plan for the future, consulting each other and making decisions together. Learn how we’re promoting couple strengthening.

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

Clean Water = Healthier Life

When people can access clean and safe water, you’re not just giving them life, you're giving them better health, education and a brighter future. See how we’re doing this in Niger.

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

Fighting Against Malaria

Malaria deaths are a fact of life in Niger. As many as 21,300 people in Niger died from malaria in 2017—approximately one person every 25 minutes. CRS has more than a decade of experience fighting malaria around the world.

Focusing mainly on pregnant women and children under age 5, in Niger, CRS goes door-to-door in both rural and urban communities to ensure we are reaching all eligible children and women. In 2020 alone, CRS distributed over 8,005,750 mosquito nets to 2,371, 000 households between June 5th -June 10^th and reached 4,465,018 children under the age 5 through the Seasonal Malarial Chemoprevention campaign.

CRS' History in Niger

Catholic Relief Services came to Niger in 1991. Today, CRS Niger has a staff of approximately 250 people working nationwide with local partners to provide essential services and improve short- and long-term access to food for vulnerable Nigeriens.