“I wish I could return back home and help my children have a better future”
By Tijs Magagi Hoornaert
Conflicts and insecurity in Niger and across borders with neighbouring countries continue to uproot families from their homes, disrupting their access to livelihoods and driving up hunger and malnutrition. With generous donor contributions, WFP and the Government of Niger strive to meet the emergency food and nutrition needs of crisis-affected populations helping them to get back on their feet.
“Where do I start?” says Laouaratou Hamidou, an internally displaced mother living in Ouallam, a commune in Niger’s Tillaberi region, 90 km north of Niamey. “First, they burned our village down. Then they came back and killed my brother-in-law, the chief of the village and shot my husband with four bullets leaving him severely injured” she recalled with precise details.
Three years ago, Laouaratou’s village, N’Gaba, in the commune of Banibangou near the border with Mali, was raided by gunmen, forcing her family to flee, leaving behind their home, their cattle, their land and all their belongings. Together with her injured husband and six children, they walked 40 km to find shelter at the internally displaced persons (IDP) site in Ouallam, where over 14,000 women, men and children displaced by conflict live on monthly humanitarian food assistance.
Over the past years, violence by non-state armed groups and self-defence militia forced thousands of people to flee their homes, leading to a complex population displacement crisis in the country. As of February 2023, Niger is home to 255,000 refugees and 362,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) as a result of continued violence internally and within neighbouring countries. Additionally, 40 per cent of all people projected to experience irregular access to food during the next June — August lean season live in conflict-affected areas, confirming the direct link between conflict and hunger.
The World Food Programme (WFP) provides emergency food and nutrition assistance to those most affected by conflict and exposed to hunger and malnutrition. Thanks to generous contributions of EUR 11 million by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), WFP reached 695,400 food insecure people with lifesaving assistance in Niger in 2021 and 2022.
“I was so relieved to receive food assistance in this IDP site. That allowed me to feed my children and provide them with some safety. Four of them are now going to school here on the same site and every day.” Laouratou says.
WFP’s assistance is provided to both IDPs and crisis-affected people from the host communities in the immediate aftermath of displacement. Together with the Government of Niger and partners, including ECHO, WFP continues to increase support to ensure long-lasting solutions to the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and host populations in the country.
After three years in the camp, Laouaratou is now hoping for a better future again for her children.
“In my village, we used to cultivate land and have cattle. From time to time, my husband would travel to Côte d’Ivoire for work and send us some money. That was our source of income/revenue. Unfortunately, we had to flee, and he is still suffering from his injuries, and we have to rely on assistance and alternate means to provide for the whole family. It is my true wish that I can return to my village, if security allows, and give my children a better future in Niger.” she said.