Stories written by Ousseini Issa
Journaliste, stringer de IPS (Service français) au Niger depuis 2004. 20 ans de carrière. Collabore présentement avec les hebdomadaires « Le Républicain » et «Le Démocrate » paraissant à Niamey (Niger). Formation professionnelle : journalisme économique et des affaires, journalisme d’investigation. Diplôme universitaire : maîtrise Lettres modernes soutenue à l’université de Niamey en 1994 (mention très bien). Centres d’intérêt : politique, économie, culture, société, sport Membre de plusieurs réseaux de journalistes au Niger et en Afrique. | Web

Protecting Niger’s Desert Salt Pans

The Bilma community has mined the salt pans in the massive Ténéré desert region in northern Niger for centuries. But the threat of the ever-encroaching desert has become a real concern as locals here struggle to cope with a decline in salt prices.

Access to Sanitation Still a Luxury for the Very Few

About 20 communities in Tillabéri, west Niger, have been declared open defecation-free zones as across the country, very few people have access to proper sanitation.

Malian Refugees Look to Rebuild their Lives

Malian refugees in Mangaïze, northwest Niger, are keen to return home to start work and be able to support themselves once more.

Fears for Food Security Rise with West African Floodwaters

Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by heavy flooding along the Niger River over the last few weeks. Niger, Mali and Benin have been particularly hard hit, with dozens of deaths, tens of thousands of houses destroyed and vast areas of farmland submerged by rising waters.

Cash Grants Replace Food Aid for Niger Families in Need

When her name is called, Rékia Djibo leaves the group of women gathered in front of the school in Toula, and takes a confident step towards the door. Djibo is one of the recipients of a cash transfer from the World Food Programme here on the outskirts of the southwestern Niger city of Tillabéri.

Market Gardens Key to Autonomy for Niger Women

Four figures bend intently over their work in one corner of the large vegetable garden near the western Niger village of Dioga. Months after the village's main harvest has been brought in – and eaten up – the irrigated green of the garden is welcome relief in a part of the country where hunger never seems far away.

Onion producers in Niger face huge problems selling their crop because the market is saturated.  Credit: Sustainable Sanitation/CC BY 2.0

Niger Onion Producers in Tears Over Market Glut

Bitterness is written all over Boureïma Hamado's face as he prepares to return home after selling his onion crop at the Katako market in the Nigerien capital, Niamey. He's taken a big loss on the harvest.

Niger is already stressed by drought and poor harvests. Credit: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN

NIGER: Strained Welcome for 15,000 Malian Refugees

The little village of Chinagoder, on the Niger-Mali border, has become a refugee camp, flooded with Malian families fleeing fighting between their regular army and Tuareg rebels known as the MNLA - the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad.

DEVELOPMENT-NIGER: Three Million Children Threatened by Hunger

Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger.

NIGER: Caring for the River, Reaping the Benefits

In anticipation of growing sorghum during the coming rainy season, Hamadou Abdou and his son are busy preparing the soil on the family's farm in Bougoum, a village in the west of Niger.

Cattle near Zinder, in southern Niger. Credit:  Anne Isabelle Leclerq/IRIN

Niger Herders Count Losses, Plan For the Future

Bacharou Gorel had 300 head of cattle before the food security crisis began in Niger. Today he has only 53 left.

Malnutrition check-up in Moghem health centre, in Niger

Niger Facing Growing Food Crisis

In April, the United Nations World Food Programme estimated it would need 190 million dollars to respond to a food crisis threatening more than 7 million people in Niger. By July, the WFP had revised the amount needed upwards to $371 million: a month later, the U.N. agency has been forced to scale back aid for lack of funds.

Herdsmen drawing water for their cattle in Niger. Credit:  Edward Parsons/IRIN

NIGER: Livestock Herders Plan Ahead

The cows Djibo Hama looks after belong to someone else, but he is diligent. Anticipating a severe shortage of good grazing in 2010, he secured cattle feed for the 35 that remain.

POLITICS-NIGER: First Steps Towards the Restoration of Democracy?

As its promised transition to democratic rule begins, the military junta that overthrew Nigerien president Mamadou Tandja on February 18 has named a former information minister, Mahamadou Danda, as the new prime minister while retaining legislative and executive powers for itself.

WEST AFRICA: Shared River Basins, Common Problems

Nigeria and Niger, in West Africa, are neighbouring states. But the two countries have more than a border in common; they are also share a number of river basins that are under threat, and the responsibility for conserving them.

ENVIRONMENT: The Niger River in Intensive Care

Stretching over more than 4,000 kilometres, the Niger is West Africa's longest river, and greatly threatened in the country of the same name by environmental degradation that is causing the water course to silt up.

NIGER: “The Capital Does Not Only Belong to the Rich”

The new year is looking much like the old for certain residents of the "Pays-Bas" shantytown in Niger's capital, Niamey. Four months after seeing their homes demolished in the name of safety and security, they are still waiting for resettlement at an alternative, developed site promised by authorities.

ENVIRONMENT-NIGER: City Takes Step to Protect Forest

As fears of its destruction mount, city authorities have taken steps to protect the forest, or the greenbelt, around Niamey and evict squatters living within its confines. The forest protects the city from encroaching desertification and the extremes of Niger's climate.

LABOUR-NIGER: Gold Miners Exploit Children

Abdou Adamou spends his days in a pit 50 to 80 metres below ground at the Komabangou gold prospecting site. His job involves hacking up rocks and raising them to the surface with a bucket.

HEALTH-NIGER: A Hundred Dollars Goes a Long Way to Ending Genital Mutilation

"It’s not easy to give up a profession passed down to you by your parents that you’ve been at for years. But once you become aware of the grave harm you do others in this job, you have to quit," says Salmou Himadou.

CULTURE-NIGER: Archaeological Treasures May Soon Become a Thing of the Past

There’s no doubting that authorities in Niger have a host of problems to grapple with. United Nations estimates put the number of people living beneath the poverty line in this country in the region of 60 percent – while life expectancy stands at about 46 years.

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