Key messages
• The European Commission supports Niger in its efforts to improve food security for all Nigeriens and eradicate malnutrition. The country has made significant progress in reducing child deaths and has embraced a policy of free health care for under fives, but immense challenges remain to sustain these advances. At current rates, the population in Niger will continue to double every 20 years, outpacing economic growth as well as agricultural production.
• Urgent support is needed for the implementation of Niger’s national plan in response to the continuing food insecurity and the numerous cases of malnutrition. Abnormally high food prices and a lower than expected harvest in Nigeria, which is considered the region’s granary, are exacerbating factors.
• Niger faces considerable security risks as a result of growing insecurity in the region and a spill-over of the Mali conflict. 50,000 Malians have sought refuge inside Niger’s borders.
• The European Commission is a founding member of AGIR-Sahel, a new and global alliance to strengthen resilience in the region, which has adopted a road map towards ‘Zero Hunger’ in the Sahel within the next 20 years.