Niger: Drought - May 2022

In Niger, over four million households are facing the devastating effects of food insecurity caused by consecutive failed rainy seasons and decades of increasing desertification of the Sahel. The severe food insecurity situation is confirmed by the Cadre Harmonisé findings, which reported that between 2.5 and 3.3 million people are currently food insecure countrywide (Phase 3 to 5 as per the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – IPC), and that between 3.6 and 4.4 million people will be food insecure in June – August 2022 period due to a delayed 2022 rainy season and irregular distribution of rainfall, long dry spells, and high risks of flooding that can lead to losses in crops, material goods, and animal and human lives in exposed localities. (IFRC, 9 May 2022)