Study to Identify and Document Relevant Experiences/Approaches/Practices for Integrated Humanitarian and Development Assistance in Niger

The study aimed to analyze five significant experiences in terms of approaches, practices, and systems developed in connection with integrating humanitarian assistance (HA) and development assistance (DA) in Niger. The five experiences studied were conducted by the World Food Program (WFP), Belgian Cooperation through the Program of Support for Resilience of Populations Vulnerable to Disaster Risks (PRRC) - Niger, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through Scaling-Up Resilience for 1 Million Persons in the Niger River Basin (SUR1M) / Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED), the Safety Net Unit of the National Plan for Prevention and Management of Food Crises (DNPGCA) through labor-intensive work (HIMO), and the Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management Project (PGRC-DU). The study analyzed the major challenges and issues of nutrition and food security and development in the zone of intervention, the HA/DA integration goal, the strategy and methods of implementation, the main activities conducted, the results obtained, the relevance and viability of the experience, the conditions of its enhancement and sustainability, and the conditions of reproducibility and scaling-up. The study was conducted by a consultant based essentially on documentation and interviews with the actors implementing the projects concerned at the national level and in the field and with beneficiaries in the regions of Diffa, Maradi, Tillabéri, and Zinder. The understanding of the concept of HA/DA integration as to the studied experiences includes nuances that have to do with the level of intervention and the vision of the link between humanitarian assistance and development assistance. For the scales of intervention, two experiences out of the five (PRRC and Safety Net Unit) operate almost exclusively in terms of vulnerable households, while WFP, SUR1M/BRACED, and PGRC-DU have interventions on the scale of households and municipalities. The PGRC-DU and WFP also support strategic processes at the national level. As to the perceptions of the HA/DA connection, those of the WFP, SUR1M/BRACED, PRRC, and Safety Net Unit aim to list those vulnerable households out of their current condition towards a less vulnerable category by combining the humanitarian emergency with creation of productive assets, while those of the PGRC-DU fit more into a perspective of creating specific income opportunities, and secondarily community assets, but the aim of creating assets specific to households is not the priority. The study suggests the promotion of some approaches that have been tested and/or successful in Niger, with the aim of achieving the overall goal of “Zero Hunger” by 2030 and to help to increase agriculture/forestry/livestock production, improve incomes, and reduce poverty and vulnerability of rural households to food and nutrition insecurity. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the five experiences and highlights the importance of integrating humanitarian assistance and development assistance in Niger to achieve sustainable development goals. The study's findings and recommendations are based on the analysis of the five experiences and aim to provide guidance to policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in humanitarian and development assistance in Niger. The study's conclusions and recommendations are intended to contribute to the development of effective and sustainable strategies for addressing food and nutrition insecurity in Niger. The study's methodology involved a comprehensive analysis of the five experiences, including documentation review, interviews with project implementers and beneficiaries, and analysis of project data and outcomes. The study's findings are presented in two parts: a synoptic analysis of the five HA/DA integration experiences in Niger and a presentation of the five HA/DA integration experiences in the form of case studies. The study's results highlight the importance of integrating humanitarian assistance and development assistance in Niger to achieve sustainable development goals. The study's recommendations aim to provide guidance to policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in humanitarian and development assistance in Niger. The study's conclusions and recommendations are intended to contribute to the development of effective and sustainable strategies for addressing food and nutrition insecurity in Niger. The study's results highlight the importance of integrating humanitarian assistance and development assistance in Niger to achieve sustainable