Summary: The revised appeal focuses on food security and post-harvest season recovery activities for resilience capacity building in Tillabéry and Diffa regions. In Tillabéry region, activities in targeted communities are also focussed on addressing the risk of cholera and other water-borne diseases, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion while in Dosso, Diffa and Niamey regions, focus is on nutritional related activities.Supplementing these activities, an emergency nutritional programme (in partnership with UNICEF) targeting children below 5 years and women will continue in Dosso, Diffa and Niamey regions and monthly food distribution to some 20,000 Malian refugees and host families in Tillabéry and Tahoua regions, will continue.
Despite a slow start of the operation due lack of funding and the need for additional operational support, the implementation of most activities has gathered up speed. The three month delay between the end of the DREF implementation and the appeal funding, made some of the food security activities irrelevant to be able to meet the government plan.
Through the IFRC twin-track approach aimed at saving lives, protecting livelihoods, and strengthening recovery from disasters and crisis by providing short term emergency relief, the following progress has been made in the operation:
Food assistance has been distributed to 20,000 Malian refugees and host families in Tillabéry and Tahoua regions through a local field agreement between RCSN and WFP. This assistance will continue until end December 2012.
Cash vouchers have been ddistributed to 300 vulnerable heads of households unfit for fieldwork in 12 villages of Tillabéry and Tahoua regions. Additionally 325 families were enrolled into the cash for work activities and were involved in soil rehabilitation in the 12 villages giving them sufficient earnings to cover 3 months of food needs. Through the CFW activities 144 acres of dry land were rehabilitated, 39,030 herbaceous plants and trees planted to ensure land rehabilitation and provide fodder for livestock.
RCSN volunteers have conducted nutritional screening on over 20,000 children (6 to 59 months), their mothers and pregnant women and about 2,000 children referred to health centres for further support. In addition over 60 tonnes of food and ready- to-use therapeutic food, 600 food parcels, protection rations, including ready to use therapeutically food (plumpy nut), improved cereal, and oil were distributed.
To support the health centres taking care of cholera patients, 500 litres of bleach 10,000, tablet of doxycline, 7,000 ORS were procured as well as 10 tents availed to those health centres in order to isolate cholera patients from other patients. In addition vaccinations and essential drugs to support over 2,000 moderate and severe acute malnourished children on a monthly basis have been provided to the referral health centres through the RCSN and UNICEF agreement.
Approximately 39 farmer associations in Tahoua region and 500 farmers in Tillabéry region have each received 500 bags of fodder.
A total of 37.5 tonnes of improved seeds (local resistant Sahel adapted), fertilizer and tools have been provided to 2,500 families in 14 villages as well as support provided to the community vegetable gardens to allow families to diversify their food intake and possibly create sources of income.
Existing cereal banks have been rehabilitated and new ones built to enable families in remote villages have a direct access to the most commonly used cereal seeds at a low price in times when prices rise during the lean season from June to October.
Approximately 27,090 people living in 48 villages in districts of Tillabery region (including 4,653 people in the Tillabery and Ayorou refugee camps) have been reached through sensitization campaigns and distribution of aqua tabs. Furthermore 6,000 pieces of soap and 400,000 water purification tablets were procured and distributed to 2,000 and 5,000 households respectively for hygiene promotion and to increase access to safe water.
To date funding for the appeal has been received from Danish Red Cross/Government, Norwegian Red Cross/Government, Japanese, Monaco, and Swedish Red Cross Societies. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions.