The alert was issued by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) after the coup d’état on July 26. Economic sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the country, in response to the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, hit not only the junta but thousands of civilians in the impoverished nation, hit hard by by rising jihadist violence.
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“More than two million children have been affected by the crisis and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance,” he said. the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
The organization noted that before the recent riots in Niger, UNICEF already estimated by 2023 “at 1.5 million the number of children under 5 years of age suffering from malnutrition, including at least 430,000 suffering from the deadliest form of malnutrition.”
But now, amid rising jihadist violence, political instability and sanctions against the military junta that took power by force, the situation is worsening.
UNICEF says more than two million children have been impacted by Niger’s coup crisis and ‘are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.’ https://t.co/4TAA2jINgw
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According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, the numbers may rise “if food prices continue to rise, as well as the economic downturn hitting families, households and incomes.”
In addition, the “shortage of electrical energy” – already prevalent in Niger and multiplied by the sanctions imposed on the country by ECOWAS, in response to the recent coup d’état – affects the cold chain and can compromise the effectiveness of “vaccines infants” stored in sanitary facilities,” said UNICEF.
And it is that among the consequences of the sanctions are power cuts, an essential supply, most of which came from Nigeria.
Unicef urges to guarantee the access of humanitarian workers to Niger
The organization recalls that it “continues to provide humanitarian aid to children throughout the country.” However, it warns that its “vital supplies remain blocked at various entry points” into the nation, such as the border with Benin.
The UN agency “makes an urgent call” to the “actors” of the crisis to guarantee access to Niger for humanitarian workers and supplies, and calls on “donors to protect humanitarian funds from multilateral or unilateral sanctions,” it highlights. .
Niger, destabilized after the coup on July 26, is one of the poorest countries in the world and depends economically and energetically on foreign countries.
The African nation has also been undermined for several years by jihadist attacks, especially in the west and southeast of its territory.
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