Niger

Axes of intervention

  • Care and surgery
  • Building and equipping hospitals
  • Training and skills transfer
Mission start date: 2007
For several years, Niger has been facing a humanitarian crisis aggravated by a very difficult political and security situation. In this country, where the population benefits from poor health coverage, La Chaîne de l'Espoir is strengthening heart disease detection capacities and access to treatment, particularly for children.
Background

Young children, the first victims of the humanitarian crisis in Niger

189th country
out of 191

according to the Human Development Index in 2022.

4.3 million inhabitants,

or around 17% of the population, needed humanitarian aid in 2023.

1 Nigerian
out of 2

had access to a healthcare facility within a radius of 0 to 5 km in 2021.

Sources: UNDP, OCHA, WHO
In Niger, political instability and the rise of terrorism have led to a general deterioration in the state of the country. Precarious living conditions, forced population displacements and famine exacerbate the need for emergency care and endanger the health of children, especially the youngest. As a result, heart defects are on the increase, due to changes in diet and lack of monitoring of pregnant women.

Although some medical facilities in Niamey are able to detect these malformations, there is no subsequent surgical treatment. And for Nigerians living outside the capital, even the possibilities of detection are very limited. And yet, treatment of these pathologies is often vital.

Since 2007, La Chaîne de l’Espoir has been involved in humanitarian missions in Niger, enabling children suffering from serious pathologies to benefit from a medical transfer to France. Faced with a lack of suitable surgical resources on site, we enable children who could not be operated on in their own country to receive the necessary care in hospitals in France.

Our humanitarian aid action in Niger

Improving the management of childhood cardiac pathologies

Because of the lack of facilities capable of treating them, heart disease accounts for the bulk of medical evacuations from Niger. These transfers are extremely costly, and even inaccessible to the majority of people.
Zeinabou, Mariam and Aichatou with their host family and Dr Daouda

Three Nigerian children operated on in Lyon

Zeinabou, Mariam and Aichatou, three Nigerian children suffering from heart disease, underwent surgery at Lyon University Hospital in 2022. They were accompanied by Dr. Amadou Daouda, a cardiovascular surgeon from Niamey’s General Reference Hospital, who trained in Morocco and Lyon. Dr. Daouda collaborated with Drs. Olivier Metton and Julia Mitchell from Hôpital Louis-Pradel for the operations. These children were the first in Niger to benefit from such a transfer as part of the development of pediatric cardiac surgery in Niamey.

Developing a cardiac surgery department

Niamey General Referral Hospital, Niger
In 2022, we initiated a humanitarian project in Niger to provide cardiac surgery for children at the Niamey General Reference Hospital. This project aims to reduce infant mortality due to heart disease by training a local medical team and equipping a specialized department to ensure the sustainability of cardiovascular surgery activities in Niger. Ultimately, the aim is to make this hospital a reference center for cardiovascular surgery accessible to all Nigeriens, capable of managing post-operative follow-up, including complications, and training future specialist doctors in Niger.

The project includes a skills-building program for the medical teams, with training provided by volunteer doctors from La Chaîne de l’Espoir. The surgical team’s expertise in closed-heart surgery is strengthened, before moving on to open-heart operations. Planned over a five-year period, this humanitarian program in Niger aims to achieve total autonomy for the medical team. At the same time, support is provided for the acquisition of medical equipment, medicines and consumables required by the hospital.

“La Chaîne de l’Espoir supports the ongoing training of Niger’s cardiac surgery teams. In particular, they take part in various cardiac surgery missions organized in the sub-region, such as in Burkina Faso. The next step is to carry out autonomous open-heart surgery.

Dr Amadou Daouda, cardiac surgeon at Niamey General Reference Hospital

Training and supporting diagnosis with tele-ultrasound

Our humanitarian program in Niger, at the Niamey General Reference Hospital, also benefits from the integration of the echoes® tele-echography tool, a technology already successfully implemented in other countries by La Chaîne de l’Espoir. This innovation enables hospital doctors to connect directly with cardiologists in our medical network, for remote cardiac ultrasound scans. Thanks to this interaction, practitioners in Niamey benefit from a second opinion, particularly for the diagnosis and treatment of complex cardiac pathologies in infants. The collaboration also strengthens the skills of local medical staff, consolidating their expertise in this specialized field.

Better diagnosis of heart disease through prevention in schools

In addition, to prevent an increase in heart disease, we plan to set up prevention and awareness campaigns in schools. By organizing talks, exchanges with the educational community and broadcasting radio messages, we will provide families with information on the conditions that favor the onset of heart disease, as well as the right reflexes for dealing with these illnesses. Through this humanitarian mission in Niger, we will be helping to reduce infant mortality, combat disability and promote equal opportunities for survival for all children.
Our partners

They support our humanitarian aid
in Niger

No linked partners found.

Photos: La Chaîne de l’Espoir

En direct du terrain

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