Now there is no doubt that the country is again in the grip of a nutritional crisis. The system for treating children with acute malnutrition has changed considerably in the past five years. Since 2005, the number of functional treatment centres has grown, and the government has adopted new, more effective treatment protocols.

However, the volume of admissions recorded to nutritional centres in previous years indicates that Niger’s nutrition crisis is a recurrent problem. A recent nutritional survey[1] carried out between May and June 2010 revealed that 455,000 children aged between six months and five years are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, of whom 86,800 are severely malnourished. The severely malnourished children account for 3.2% of the total number of children in this age range in the country. The youngest children are the most affected, with 4.6% of all children between six and 35 months old in Niger suffering from severe malnutrition.

The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been addressing the recurring nutritional crisis in Niger since 2001. In 2009, 86,000 children were treated in nutritional centres supported by MSF. This year, MSF and its partners - the Nigerien non-governmental organisations (FORSANI) and (BEFEN) - are boosting their capacity to respond to projected increases in severe acute malnutrition.

Today, MSF supports – directly or through partners - 57 government-run integrated health centres offering outpatient nutritional care in three regions: Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder. Between January and June 2010, 43,633 severely malnourished children under five years old were admitted to these centres. In addition, MSF supports 7 inpatient centres for intensive nutritional rehabilitation, where 6,264 children with medical complications associated with severe malnutrition have been hospitalised since January 2010.

In order to stop Nigerien children from becoming malnourished year after year, and to allow nutritional care to be effectively integrated into healthcare facilities, the curative response must be combined with stronger preventive action. This year, MSF, together with the government of Niger, will distribute ready-to-use foods adapted to the needs of young children in an effort to protect them from developing severe malnutrition and reduce the risk of mortality.

MSF has worked in Niger since 1985. Besides providing nutritional support to children, MSF supports paediatric and maternal healthcare services in government-run health centres and hospitals in the regions of Maradi, Zinder, Tahoua and Agadez. In Agadez, MSF also provides medical care to migrant populations. MSF responds to emergencies such as outbreaks of disease, and supports vaccination campaigns.

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[1] Enquête Nutrition et Survie des Enfant de 6 a 59 mois – Institut National de la Statistique, INS et Direction Nutrition du Ministère de la Santé – Gouvernement du Niger, Mai -Juin 2010