Direct Relief's Activities in Niger

Niger is a landlocked country located in western Africa to the southeast of Algeria. Niger has the third highest infant mortality rate in the world at 150 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the life expectancy is also low at 44 years. Over 85 percent of its population of 13.3 million lives on less than US $2 per day. Eighty-seven percent of the country lacks sustainable access to safe sanitation while over half lack sustainable access to safe water supplies. ¹ Other key public health problems include respiratory infections, childhood diseases including measles and tetanus, and waterborne parasitical infections. ²

Direct Relief has provided slightly less than $1 million (wholesale) in medical material assistance to Niger since 2000, focusing on pediatric medicine and general healthcare for the extremely impoverished.

Direct Relief's key work in Niger is related to working with the nomadic Wodaabe and Touraeg peoples, through the Nomad Foundation and TurtleWill. In July 2009, a donation of analgesics and antibiotics was made in support of the Nomad Foundation, a California-based organization that has been working with nomadic communities in Niger for 10 years. The essential medicines support patient care in a new health center on the annual migration route of the Touraeg and Wodaabe people, where these nomadic communities can also access other essential services, including clean water, food, education, and skills training.

TurtleWill, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, conducts multiple medical camps yearly since 2004 to support improved access to basic primary healthcare services in northern and eastern Niger. These mobile clinics have brought care free of charge to over 20,000 people who otherwise have very little to no access to medical services.

Direct Relief's Partners in Niger