By Amy Warnock | Development Manager
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have disproportionate effects on women and girls in Niger. Considering the limitations of Niger’s health care system and that many have virtually no access to vaccines, the negative impacts persist nation-wide. With approximately 6% of Nigeriens fully vaccinated, at-risk populations are left vulnerable to illness. Ultimately though, the most severe outcomes of the pandemic have been economic. Covid-related lockdowns, reduced working hours, job loss, and travel restrictions have forced 400,000 more Nigeriens into extreme poverty. Impacted supply chains contribute to shortages and costs for everyday items have skyrocketed, making it even harder for Nigeriens to provide for themselves and their families. The cost of staple goods like rice and couscous have risen 40%, while oil and flour are up over 80%, and beans and cassava flour are up 100%.
This economic stress has had a ripple effect as families have been forced to reprioritize and look for ways to cut down on expenses. During the height of the pandemic, many schools were shut down. Across the country, we anticipated increased drop-out rates as parents married their daughters off to families better equipped to feed them. And unfortunately, despite our best efforts, daily costs per student at the Agadez Learning Center have risen 36% since this time last year.
In many ways, much of the world is "moving on" from Covid-19, but in Niger day-to-day survival is getting harder and more expensive.
However, RAIN's programs continue to expand with interest increasing steadily year to year. Despite the ongoing struggles from the pandemic, your support is still making an exponential difference.
A major factor in the successful continuation of RAIN's programming throughout the pandemic has been flexibility. When challenges like the ones we faced last year arise, RAIN seeks opportunities to maximize our ability to carry out our mission within the given context. Having the support and understanding of our donors and community partners is critical in allowing us to adapt. Without your flexibility and support, we would not have been able to pivot so quickly to continue providing programming at the same scale -- it is likely that we would only be in half the number of communities this year.
We believe that international support and collaboration are key to resolving these challenges. Thank you for your continued partnership, ensuring we do not leave the most vulnerable to fend for themselves in this time of uncertainty.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
