Médecins Sans Frontières
niger Key medical figures: • 878,000 outpatient consultations • 324,100 patients treated for malaria • 8 4,950 patients treated for severe malnutrition Agadez
Including prevention and treatment of malnutrition as part of basic health services in Niger will allow many lives to be saved. Food insecurity and nutrition crises are a chronic problem in Niger, but child mortality was reduced by 45 per cent between 1998 and 2009, according to a study in the Lancet. Health authorities have shown the will to make changes. They have recruited more medical personnel, and measures such as the decentralisation of nutrition programmes and the provision of supplementary treatment to prevent those at risk of developing severe malnutrition have brought improvements.
Zinder
Tillabéri
Maradi
Regions where MSF has projects
free services for children under five and pregnant women formally introduced five years ago have yet to be made available. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) activities in Niger are mainly aimed at improving healthcare for children under five and pregnant women, focusing on early treatment and prevention, particularly of malnutrition. Teams in the regions of Zinder, Maradi and Tahoua run outpatient feeding
programmes in some 38 health centres. Patients in need of hospitalisation are cared for at inpatient feeding centres in Zinder, Magaria, Madarounfa, Dakoro, Guidan Roumdji, Madoua and Bouza hospitals. The staff in Zinder and Magaria are in the process of handing over activities to the Ministry of Health, and in 2013 expect to provide support only during the peak season for malnutrition.
© Juan-Carlos Tomasi
However, malnutrition rates remain high, with overall levels close to the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold in 2012. There are still chronic shortages of drugs and medical supplies, and the
Tahoua
Each year, hundreds of thousands of children suffer from severe malnutrition in Niger. MSF runs outpatient feeding centres at some 38 locations. 70 niger