Projects

Supporting Niger’s Ministries to Advance Stabilization and Peacebuilding Efforts

Across Niger’s most insecure regions, Kaizen created critical linkages between local and national leaders to build public confidence in the government.

The Sahel region faces continuous insecurity with threats from violent extremist organizations rising and Sahelian states struggling to maintain territorial integrity. The United Nations estimated that more than 15 million people are displaced across the region and more than 5,500 schools have closed. In Niger, citizens were increasingly frustrated with the country’s challenges, including governmental corruption and a lack of accountability. Food insecurity was also reaching emergency levels, with the World Food Program predicting 6.5 million Nigeriens would be food insecure in 2022. Tackling these issues required the Government of Niger to demonstrate a commitment, from the national to the local level, to support stabilization and development.

			Highlights		

							Facilitated more than 40 activities, including conflict mediation sessions
Created a national unity campaign serving more than 56,000 beneficiaries
Coached youth on how to participate in local governance
Trained 143 local leaders on how to lead during crises
Moderated peace accords between local authorities and herders and farmers
						

USAID supported Niger in addressing security, education, and economic challenges and funded the Niger Stability Support Initiative (NSSI). Through NSSI, Kaizen worked with the Government of Niger to advance its stabilization, governance, and peacebuilding efforts while promoting conflict-sensitive approaches to programming. NSSI provided technical assistance to the civilian ministries; worked with key institutions and actors to strengthen the connection between national, regional, and local governance in key areas; and supported the newly established USAID/Niger Mission’s efforts to adapt programming across sectors to create synergies to bolster stabilization and peacebuilding objectives. Kaizen also influenced community stability by implementing capacity-building activities designed to disrupt threats from violent extremist organizations. The team worked with a local, women-led media company to develop a campaign to promote unity among Nigeriens; this campaign continues to be featured by local radio and tv stations across the country and has gained popularity among youth on social media platforms.

The project also implemented a series of conflict mediation trainings for local authorities to address ongoing conflicts between herders and farmers in rural areas across the country. The trainings concluded with the signing of peace accords between local authorities and interest groups and conflict between herders and farmers is at an all-time low, with zero fatal conflicts reported during the most recent harvest season—a first for Niger.