2022 Achievements: Niger

2022 Achievements | Strengthening rapid response mechanisms and coordination in Niger

The humanitarian crisis in Niger continues to put added pressure on an already fragile education system. Beyond structural issues, Niger’s education system suffers from a lack of trained teachers, material, and infrastructure as well as natural disasters or epidemics that affect learning continuity. In 2022, insecurity and instability caused important school closures and challenged access to a safe education for 83,000 children. Learners who are the most in need of education in emergencies response (402,500 children in 2022, including 17,000 children with disabilities) live across 4 emergency regions of Tillaberi, Maradi, Tahoua and Diffa which continue to face aa dire humanitarian situation, triggering heavy movements of population. Learners and teachers in these areas need urgent support through the rehabilitation/building of school infrastructures, the provision of school materials, psychosocial support, distance learning activities and back to school sensitizations.  

In 2022 the GEC, in collaboration with the Child Protection Area of Responsibility and leveraging support from USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, supported a Joint Education Needs Assessment. Through in-country and remote support, the teams surveyed 36 schools located in the 4 emergency regions and conducted key informant interviews with caregivers and other relevant stakeholders. The results of this needs assessment provide Cluster partners with a better and holistic understanding of education and child protection needs in terms of access to education, learners to teacher ratios, education infrastructure needs and what protection issues children face in schools and IDP centers.

The Joint Education Needs Assessment had a strong child participation component, with 363 children consulted throughout the process. Ensuring children’s voices are heard is a priority for the Niger Education Cluster, and the GEC will continue to support on this in 2023.

Leveraging support from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the GEC also supported the Niger Education Cluster strengthen rapid education response, including through Rapid Response Mechanisms (RRM). The Cluster organized multiple workshops with RRM education partners and, with the support of the GEC, developed a guidance document for conducting rapid needs assessments in education. This included identifying trigger indicators for intervention, as well as finalizing a preparedness plan and tools for conducting rapid needs assessments.

Additionally, the leveraged Education Cannot Wait support to assist the Niger Education Cluster strengthen the capacity of Education Working Groups (EWGs) in emergency regions to improve coordination among partners and ensure an appropriate and accountable response. The Cluster also received thematic specialist support from the GEC in areas such as inclusion, gender, child safeguarding and participation, and localisation and child protection and education in emergencies collaboration to support needs analysis, development of a Cluster response framework and Humanitarian Needs Overview and Humanitarian Response Plan processes. Finally, the Niger Cluster Co-Coordinator enhanced their knowledge and skills by participating in a Global Core Coordination Training. The GEC deployed a member of the team for 3.5 weeks in person and 2 weeks remotely in 2022 to ensure the cluster was fully capacitated and partners were supported in their response. The GEC will maintain its capacity strengthening efforts in 2023.