Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty
Somalia: North-western Integrated Community Development Programme - Phase 1
In rural areas of Niger, illiteracy, malnutrition, hunger and disease are widespread. The goal of the IFAD-supported project is to improve incomes, food security and living conditions for poor rural communities in the department of Aguié. To this end the project has introduced cereal and food banks, to help ensure that food is available year round, and new technologies to raise the productivity of staple crops. The food banks are successfully run by women. The project also helps strengthen grassroots organizations to enable them to conceive and implement their own development. An innovative means of monitoring and evaluation using a method of self-census has been introduced by the project in the area to capture the impact of activities and better understand the needs of different members of the communities.
The BFFS grant has constructed and equipped health centres and schools in the project area and trained community health workers. It has also provided new water points offering safe drinking water, and trains community representatives in household health and nutrition, and how to combat malnutrition. In this project, BFFS co-financing cuts across all components and sub-components.