Health 

NIGER FACT SHEET

In Niger, chronic food insecurity and infectious diseases have resulted in some of the highest rates of malnutrition and mortality in the world. More than 47 percent of children under 5 years of age are chronically malnourished and the rates of acute malnutrition are well beyond the threshold for public health emergencies.

Malaria accounts for 50 percent of deaths among children under age five. Maternal mortality remains high due to socio-economic factors, lack of access to quality care, and insufficient numbers of trained health personnel available, and risk factors such as anemia. In addition, Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world. Left unchecked, Niger's rapid population growth will further undermine the effective delivery of health services, weaken the resilience of the most vulnerable populations, and impede development and economic growth. 

Our Work

USAID health programs develop the capacity of government, civil society, the private sector, and other partners to mitigate infectious diseases, including malaria and emerging health threats, while improving the quality and uptake of integrated primary health care services, in particular reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health and family planning services. To strengthen the overall healthcare system, USAID activities improve availability of essential health commodities, build capacity of health providers and facilities to increase equitable access to quality primary health care, and strengthen Niger’s health information and supply chain systems.   

Enhancing Resilience And Nutrition

USAID contributes to improved health, food security, and nutritional status of Nigeriens by reducing the vulnerability of populations living in a situation of chronic and recurrent crises. USAID also integrates family planning into malnutrition treatment activities and strengthens the overall healthcare system. To reach children at risk for chronic and acute malnutrition, we perform community outreach work with at-risk mothers and children under five, while exploring opportunities to integrate nutrition interventions with livelihood-strengthening activities for women. Health districts are enabled to improve quality of malnutrition screening, treatment, and referral of severe cases of children under five through mobile clinics, and integrated community case management activities and training on improved dietary practices focusing on pregnant and lactating women and children under two years of age. 

Maternal Health, Child Health, Family Planning

USAID supports the Ministry of Health’s goals for maternal, child health, and family planning to increase demand, access, and use of quality healthcare services. This includes strengthening the capacity of community health workers and health care providers to deliver quality services in communities and health facilities. USAID works directly with the Nigerien Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs to improve the availability and the management of health commodities. Reproductive health interventions engage with parents, youth and religious leaders to address key barriers and disseminate messages promoting maternal and child health and family planning. Through its resilience programs, USAID promotes safe spaces for young women where they can learn about nutrition as well as sexual and reproductive health with and from their peers. USAID also works to treat and prevent obstetric fistula, a debilitating childbirth injury that can leave women with constant incontinence, shame, ostracization, and chronic health problems.

Malaria

Through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), USAID, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work to reduce malaria infections and death rates in the country. USAID supports Niger’s National Malaria Program to implement the national malaria strategic plan. Our support includes the improvement of the diagnostic and treatment capacities. USAID provides support to the National Office of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Products to improve supply chain management of health products. PMI works with several divisions within the Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs to improve disease surveillance, testing, and treatment. To prevent and control the spread of the disease, PMI supports the routine distribution of bed nets, monitors their durability, and tracks insecticide resistance mosquitoes. PMI also supports the National Malaria Plan’s annual malaria chemoprevention campaigns during the rainy season to protect children under five years of age.

Infectious Diseases

USAID supports the Nigerien pharmaceutical management systems to improve family planning and malaria commodity security (such as drugs and testing supplies) as part of a regional initiative that includes six countries in West and Central Africa. USAID also supports the Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs to eradicate neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis (also known as River Blindness). USAID’s surveillance and laboratory system strengthening assistance reinforces Niger’s capacity to detect and respond to emergent disease threats.

Our Goals

• Increased equitable access, availability and use of integrated primary health care services including reproductive, maternal, adolescent, newborn, child health, and nutrition.
• Increased equitable access to safe water and improved sanitation.
• Improved health and nutritional practices.
• Strengthened capacity of health centers.
• Strengthened supply chain.
• Strengthened health information system.
• Improved data quality and use.
• Reduced malaria infections and deaths.
• Reduced vaccine preventable diseases.
• Increased capacity to detect and respond to emergent health threats.
• Improved youth, gender, and equity perspectives in program design and implementation.

Select List of USAID Health Programming

Advancing Nutrition, Helen Keller Intl. (Niger lead); November 2020 - September 2023; $3.75 million

Advancing Nutrition improves the nutritional status and health of populations vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies. The project assists the Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs and local partners working at national and sub-national levels to improve nutritional status and health outcomes. In FY 2022, the project provided nutrition training to over 370 health staff and agents to strengthen malnutrition screening and services for most at-risk individuals, especially young children, their caregivers, and women of reproductive age in Maradi, Zinder, and Tahoua.

Breakthrough ACTION, Save the Children (Niger Lead); June 2018 - September 2023; $2.01 million 

Breakthrough ACTION focuses on social and behavior change activities to strengthen birth preparedness and maternity services, as well as improve nutrition practices and global health security to increase knowledge and capacity among Nigerien government counterparts and local actors. Since 2021, Breakthrough ACTION has supported activities to systematically strengthen Niger’s capacity to implement effective, comprehensive risk communication and community engagement for priority zoonotic diseases and other emerging threats. The project works in Dosso, Tahoua, Maradi, and Zinder.

Country Health Information Systems and Data Use (CHISU), Jon Snow Inc. Research and Training; August 2020 - July 2025; $10 million

CHISU improves country health systems in which stakeholders at every level, including health workers, can access high-quality data generated from multiple, interoperated data sources, and use those data to guide policy and improve resource allocation, service delivery, and system performance. CHISU strengthens leadership and governance of the Health Information System by supporting the Health Directorate of Statistics with the development of the new Health Information System strategy and strengthening related governance at the national and regional levels. In FY 2022, the project trained 65 Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs and stakeholders to improve data quality, demand, and use among national programs and the Ministry’s Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning, National Malaria Program and Immunization Directorates, and regional representatives. CHISU also supports district health information system strengthening at the national level and in the regions of Dosso, Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder. 

Global Health Supply Chain Technical Assistance, Chemonics International; June 2020 - November 2023; $3.0 million

Global Health Supply Chain–Technical Assistance Francophone Task Order, provides supply chain technical assistance for governance and financing, coordination, strategic planning, forecasting and supply planning, warehousing and inventory management, and human resource capacity development. The project collaborates with the Nigerien Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs’ Directorate of Pharmacy and Traditional Medicine and Directorate of Family Planning to improve family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health commodity availability. To address frequent stockouts in the project-supported health districts and facilities in Maradi and Zinder, in FY 2021 Quarter 3 the activity provided training and capacity building to stock managers and engaged a local hotline service provider to collect logistics information on family planning commodities at the service delivery points. These efforts reduce stock outs from 22 percent to 11 percent in FY 2022 Quarter 4.

USAID Kulawa, Save the Children; June 2020 - May 2025; $54 million

Kulawa is a flagship integrated bi-lateral award that aims to improve access to and use of quality primary health care services, strengthening ownership and management by communities, local government, and service providers. USAID Kulawa strives to close the equity gap in service access and use with a focus on maternal, newborn, and child health, family planning/reproductive health, and nutrition. Kulawa supports last mile health commodity distribution and innovative community approaches to improve health-seeking behavior and service delivery. In FY 2022, Kulawa supported safe childbirth for over 94,550 women by enabling access to uterotonics to prevent and control postpartum hemorrhage. Kulawa operates in Tillaberi, Maradi, and Zinder.

Momentum Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR), IMA World Health; May 2021 - May 2025; $26.31 million

MIHR improves resilience and strengthens the quality of maternal, newborn, and child health, voluntary family planning and reproductive health, and nutrition services in the Dosso and Tahoua regions. MIHR works with the Ministry of Health, Population and Social Affairs, stakeholders, and other partners to strengthen the capacity of Nigerien institutions to deliver quality health services, increase adaptive learning, and increase cross-sectoral collaboration and partnerships.

Momentum Private Healthcare Delivery (MPHD), Population Services International, FHI360, JHPIEGO; June 2020 - June 2025; $6.72 million

MPHD improves access to and use of quality public and private voluntary family planning and reproductive health and maternal, newborn and child health services, nutrition and wash activities and strengthens collaboration between the Nigerien Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs, private health care providers, and national and international partners. The project supports mobile and fixed health service delivery, collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health. In FY 2022, the project facilitated 140 days of mobile outreach services and supported public and private health facilities to provide safe childbirth for 10,225 women. In addition, more than 15,600 children under five years of age were screened for severe acute malnutrition and 18,895 children under five were treated for pneumonia. Finally, the project enabled access to reproductive health and family planning services through over 43,700 client visits in the regions of Maradi and Zinder. 

President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) Activities

PMI provides vital financial and technical assistance that enables the Government of Niger to deploy life-saving interventions proven to fight malaria. PMI provides insecticide-treated nets, malaria diagnosis and treatment, and supports stronger, more resilient health systems. 

• Global Health Supply Chain Procurement Supply Chain Management, Chemonics International; February 2018 - November 2023; $51.60 million

This activity provides essential malaria commodities to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. The project procures malaria commodities, manages warehousing and distribution through its subcontract with the Office National des Produits Pharmaceutiques et Chimiques (the National Office of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Products). It also provides technical assistance and distribution activities targeted at reducing the root causes of stockouts. Through support to the Government of Niger the activity engages private-sector third-party logistics providers to deliver malaria control products to public health centers in Tahoua and Dosso. Among the 417 health centers in these target regions, the project reduced stockouts of lifesaving commodities from over 30 percent to under 10 percent.

• PMI IMPACT MALARIA, Population Services International; June 2018 - September 2023; $25 million 

PMI IMPACT MALARIA supports Niger's National Malaria Control Program to improve malaria case management at the community and facility levels, focusing on protecting those most at risk, particularly young children and pregnant women. The activity strengthens health provider skills, intensifies malaria drug-based prevention, and employs the integrated community case management approach. In FY 2022, over 90 percent of uncomplicated malaria cases in coverage areas received first-line antimalaria treatment following the national guidelines. The program operates at the central level with focused interventions in Dosso and Tahoua.

• PMI EVOLVE NIGER, Abt Associates; April 2023 - April 2025; $550,000 

The recently started PMI EVOLVE Niger project will conduct the entomological monitoring of malaria vectors to support the National Malaria Control Program in making strategic vector control decisions.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION

USAID NIGER MISSION

Health Office 

Mission-Niamey-Health@usaid.gov