NIGER Humanitarian Situation Report No. 11 @UNICEFNiger/J. Haro Reporting Period: 01 to 30 November 2020 Highlights Situation in Numbers 2 million • Despite a slight decrease in the number of asymmetric attacks registered during children in need of humanitarian assistance November in Niger, the security environment remains extremely volatile and prone to quick deteriorations. The prevalence of improvised explosive devices 3.7 million (IEDs) related incidents in both the lake Chad area, as well as the border region people in need (OCHA, Humanitarian with Mali and Burkina Faso remains a primary concern. Response Plan - HRP Niger (Revised), July 2020) • The nutrition survey, conducted between September and October 2020 using the SMART methodology, showed a national Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) 533,384 prevalence of 12.7% [11.6%-14.0%]. The prevalence of Severe Acute children affected by SAM nationwide (OCHA, Malnutrition (SAM) was estimated to 2.6% [2.2%-3.1%], surpassing the HRP Niger (Revised), July 2020) emergency threshold of 2%. Five regions showed a particularly concerning 84,200 situation with a GAM prevalence close or above the emergency threshold of 15% Internally displaced children in (Diffa, Maradi, Zinder, Tahoua and Agadez). Tillaberi / Tahoua, out of • The Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) recorded 03 alerts on displacements of 139,904 population following non-state armed groups attacks and conducted 05 multi- Internally displaced people in sector assessments and 01 rapid-assessment in the Diffa, Tahoua and Tillaberi Tillaberi / Tahoua (UNHCR, August 2020) regions. RRM actors also provided NFI to 45,33o people and shelter assistance to 47,562 6,474 beneficiaries, and WASH assistance to 14,375 beneficiaries. Refugee children in Maradi, out of 70,000 Refugees in Maradi (UNHCR, August 2020) 549,049 UNICEF’s Response and Funding Status** people affected by floods (Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Civil Protection, SAM admissions 88% 21/09/2020) Funding status 60% Nutrition UNICEF Appeal 2020 Measles vaccination 28% US$ 62.2 millions Health Funding status 100% Funding Status (in US$) Safe water access 100% WASH Funding status 41% Funds MHPSS access 47% receiv ed in Child Funding status 34% 2020, Protection Funding $24M Education access 94% gap, $32M Funding status 8% Education Carry- NFI items 73% forwar NFI d, $6M Funding status 77% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% *Funding available includes carry-over and funds received in the current year. ** Regarding the Education sector, the high rate of results compared with the low funding level is mainly due to the utilisation of stock ordered in 2019 and the use of non-emergency funds, in particular for the response to emergencies in Diffa, Tahoua, and Tillaberi regions (regular resources, NORAD funds, Education Cannot Wait contributions). Funding Overview and Partnership In 2020, UNICEF is appealing for US$ 62.2M to provide life-saving services to women and children affected by several crisis in Niger, in coordination with other humanitarian actors, within the framework of the revised Humanitarian Response Plan 2020, and in partnerships with the Government as well as NGOs. The funds carry-over from the previous year (2019) amounts to US$ 6.5M and funding received so far amounts to about US$ 24M, leaving a funding gap of 51 % at the end of November 2020. UNICEF expresses its sincere gratitude to all public and private donors for the contributions received, enabling UNICEF to support vulnerable populations where it is most needed. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs Humanitarian Needs Overview: The 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan was revised in July: it has been estimated that 3.7 million people in Niger are in need of humanitarian assistance, including about 2 million children. The needs analysis shows the persistence of five major crises affecting the country: food insecurity, malnutrition, epidemics including COVID-19 pandemic, floods and population movements due to conflict and irregular migration. According to this revised version of the 2020 HRP, 2.2 million people (+27%) are targeted for non-COVID-19 response with an updated budget of 433.8 M USD (+8%). The Food Security sector increased target and budget by 33%; other sectors with a major increase in people targeted are protection, nutrition, shelter/NFI and health. The revised HRP also includes an amount of 82.3 M USD for COVID-19 response (66.6 M USD for health activities) for a new HRP total budget of 516.1 M USD. The COVID-19 related interventions in the revised HRP target 3.1 M people in the country. In partnership with government and NGOs, UNICEF continues to provide multisectoral and coordinated assistance to affected population, both through an emergency approach to assist the most vulnerable populations immediately after a shock, and through longer terms interventions to guarantee durable solutions. Access to affected communities continue to be very limited due to continuous insecurity and to a cumbersome civil- military coordination process. Field missions are frequently cancelled due to incidents and/or non-state armed groups activities and lack of access is slowing down program implementation and monitoring. The imposition of armed escorts by the government for all movements outside the major urban agglomerations represents a major barrier to access the affected communities: UNICEF was obliged to suspend all field missions requiring an armed escort with heavy consequences to the delivery of assistance. A dialogue is ongoing with the Government and the humanitarian community and UN Agencies. COVID-19 pandemic1: Following the confirmation of the first positive case of COVID-19 on March 19th, 2020 in the capital city Niamey, UNICEF has been working closely with the Government and its partners to step up the response and prevent further proliferation of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country, already facing the consequences of multiple crises (nutrition, conflicts, natural disasters). As of the end of the reporting period, Niger registered 1,548 cases of COVID-19, 1,210 patients healed, 266 patients currently under treatment and 72 deaths, with 3 new victims since the last one reported in July. A gradual increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 is registered since November 6th, reaching a peak on November 29th and affecting 4 out of 8 regions (Dosso, Agadez, Tillabery, Niamey), with Niamey reporting more than 86% of the new cases. Summary Analysis of Programme Response Nutrition UNICEF provided support to the Ministry of Health for the prevention and management of SAM in children nationwide. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, UNICEF strengthened, as part of the CMAM program, hygiene measures both at health facility and community levels to reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections and the spread of the virus. Lake Chad Basin crisis At the end of November 2020 (week 49), 17,888 under-five children suffering from SAM (representing 66.4% of the total caseload) were admitted for treatment in Diffa region, including 1,191 children with medical complications. Compared to the same period of last year, it represented a decrease of 29% in inpatient and an increase of 18% in outpatient facilities. 1 UNICEF Niger COVID-19 Sitreps are available here : https://www.unicef.org/appeals/niger_sitreps.html 2 Mali Border crisis (Tahoua and Tillaberi regions) At the end of November 2020 (week 49), 90,168 under-five children suffering from SAM were admitted for treatment in Tahoua and Tillaberi regions, including 12,569 children with medical complications. Compared to the same period of last year, it represented a decrease of 1% both in inpatient and outpatient facilities. Nutrition situation at national level At the end of the reporting period (week 49), 368,190 under-five children suffering from SAM were admitted for treatment (representing 69.0% of the revised annual target2), including 49,735 cases with medical complications. The nutrition survey conducted between September and October 2020 using the SMART methodology showed a national Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) prevalence of 12.7% [11.6%-14.0%]. The prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) was estimated to 2.6% [2.2%-3.1%], surpassing the emergency threshold of 2%. Five regions showed a particularly concerning situation with a GAM prevalence close or above the emergency threshold of 15% (Diffa, Maradi, Zinder, Tahoua and Agadez). UNICEF has developed a response plan for prevention and treatment of malnutrition (including micronutrient deficiencies) that includes: support to the extension of the mother mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) approach for early detection and referral of children with acute malnutrition, capacity strengthening for the management of SAM and integration with WASH, support to vitamin A supplementation and deworming, home fortification with Micronutrient Powders (MNP), iron folic acid supplementation for pregnant women and adolescent girls, and promotion of adequate Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, as well as support to sectoral coordination at central and regional levels. The plan also foresees additional support to increase the availability of human resources and materials in the regions with high prevalence of acute malnutrition. Furthermore, UNICEF in collaboration with partners will undertake qualitative analysis to determine the causes of the high levels of acute malnutrition in the regions of Agadez, Diffa and Zinder. COVID-19 ADAPTATION UNICEF continues to support the Government of Niger and partners on the implementation of adapted modalities to ensure the continuity of essential nutrition services at health facility and community levels. The Nutrition Technical Group (NTG), co-led by the Directorate of Nutrition and UNICEF, finalized the sectoral strategy for the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan which includes reference to the adaptation strategy for the nutrition response in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. As restrictions on community activities have been lifted since August, UNICEF is supporting the government in strengthening community-level preventive activities while ensuring that Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures are respected.