DAKAR (AlertNet) - Aid groups are ramping up efforts to prevent a looming food crisis in Niger despite last week's coup, with the Red Cross announcing plans on Tuesday to assist more than 300,000 people threatened by shortages.
Aid workers say there are no signs yet that the takeover by the military - which deposed the president, Mamadou Tandja - could have a negative impact on measures to tackle worsening hunger in the West African nation.
Residents of the capital Niamey say the coup has given them some cautious optimism for positive change in the mostly desert country that has been plagued by strongman leadership since independence from France in 1960.
The Red Cross is releasing around $213,000 to finance cash-for-work projects, support nutritional centres and boost food production in 120 villages in the regions of Tahoua, Zinder and Diffa in the south of the country near the borders with Chad and Nigeria.
Over 7 million people, half the country's population, could face moderate-to-severe food shortages as early as March after erratic rains affected crop production, a government report warned in January.
"The earlier we intervene, the better it is for the communities," Youcef Ait-Chellouche, regional disaster management coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for West and Central Africa, told AlertNet in Dakar.
"This is a rapid intervention in advance of the international aid system because in a few weeks most households might run out of their food stocks meant to last until October," he added.
Khaled Ikri, chairman of the Niger Association for the Protection of Human Rights (ANDDH), which has been vocal on food security issues, warned there was no time to lose. "The international community must know that there is a problem so that international assistance is put in place in good time to avoid a disaster," he said in a telephone interview.
BUSINESS AS USUAL?
The military junta says its priorities are to clean up the socio-political environment and restore democracy by holding transparent elections. It has also announced plans to set up a consultative body to focus on the food and financial problems plaguing the country, without providing details.
"It is good - it shows that they understand the risks the country faces," said Ikri.
IFRC's Ait-Chellouche said the Red Cross was working within the framework of an action plan devised by the government's technical services. "I do not think this would be affected by the (political) change," he said.
Aid agencies say they can roll out their plans to tackle hunger providing the relevant authorities carry on as before the coup.
"We continue to function normally," Michael Flachaire, head of Action Against Hunger's Spanish arm (ACF-E) in Niger, told AlertNet. "What is important to us is that all the technical and administrative authorities at local level continue to operate because they are vital to any response that international humanitarian organisations have to provide."
Any disruption to efforts to address food shortages could prove disastrous. During the 2005 food crisis which affected over 4 million people, Niger's authorities were criticised for operational delays and a reluctance to accept outside help.
"International donors must start now to mobilise funds to support work by local authorities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to respond effectively to the looming food crisis in Niger," Flachaire said.
The humanitarian aid arm of the European Union, ECHO, estimates $220 million is needed to avert a food crisis in Niger.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
