Malnutrition is a chronic problem in Niger, it is estimated that nearly 30% of Niger’s children suffer from it in varying degrees.

During the food crisis in 2005

Severely undernourished children are hospitalized in a recovery center created by Helen Keller International (HKI) in 2005. 176 children were treated in this center from August 2005 to February 2006. Tarbiyya Tatali found out that the mothers, living close to their babies in the hospital were also undernourished and needed help. Tarbiyya took responsibility to feed them for the first forty five days, and then HKI took over. A bar of soap has also been supplied weekly to these mothers.

Distributing Spiruline

The alga treats child malnutrition efficiently with just two to five grams per day per child. But growing spiruline is costly (18,000 CFA, 27 euros per kilo), and Nigeriens are not accustomed to using it.

Since the spiruline farm of RAEDD started, in 2009, 20% of the production has been donated every month as humanitarian aid to the Dogondoutchi hospital