Most NGOs and UN agencies in Niger agree that in 2010 humanitarian actors are better geared to respond to the food security crisis than they were in 2005, but some say there is a risk of repeating mistakes in information-sharing, planning appropriate responses, and raising funds more quickly.
"There are similarities to 2005 that donors and the aid community must heed in order to avert a disaster in 2010," warned CARE, an NGO focusing on poverty eradication, in a communiqué on 26 April.
A government declaration of critical food insecurity on 11 March, with an appeal for international assistance, helped mobilize agencies and donors, said Clare Sayce of CARE International. IRIN spoke to several UN agencies, international NGOs and donors in Niamey, Niger's capital, about responding to the crisis.
Things have changed since 2005: more humanitarian actors are already on the ground; early warning and information-sharing systems are in use; long-term programmes to help communities recover have been running since 2005; the government is more engaged and open to accepting outside help; coordination systems work better now.
"In February 2005, when MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières, the global medical charity] raised concerns of an emerging crisis, few agencies had sufficient teams in place on the ground to pick up the call, and no significant mobilization took place until June and July," said Stephane Heymans, head of MSF in Niger.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201004281048.html
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