As If the Locusts Weren't Enough: Avian Flu in Niger
by Niandou Ibrahim, CARE Niger
Multitudes head for the market — on foot, bicycle, motorbike rickshaws, or piled into the ubiquitous jalopies. It is a typical market day, but something central to the market is missing — poultry. A lonely, hungry cat stalks the area in a vain search for chicks or pigeons.
Bulletins on the avian flu are posted on the main gates of the Maradi market. The section where poultry is normally traded — Babban Kassoua, or "Big Market" — is virtually empty. Buyers normally crowd one another around the stalls. On this day, one can walk the lanes without touching another person.
The lines of cages and crates, usually so lively, house only the rare hen or guinea fowl. The birds seem as listless as their sellers, bitter at their sudden unemployment.
The crisis stems from an announcement by the World Organization for Animal Health on February 27: the deadly H5N1 subtype of avian flu had arrived in Niger. The first African cases of avian flu were confirmed in neighboring Nigeria on February 8 and, as feared, soon spread across the northern border. The disease has had a major economic impact on poultry farmers and markets in Niger, already one of the world's poorest countries.
"Nobody is interested in us now," said Moutari Alassan, president of poultry sellers of Maradi. "It's as if we are contagious." Having survived a historic plague of locusts and near-famine last year, Moutari had figured the worst was behind him.
Seemingly happy to have someone to speak with, Moutari spoke of how poultry traders came to bear the main burden of fighting a disease most of them had never heard of.
"The governor held a meeting with us and the breeding animal agents," Moutari began. "Then came one minister. They informed us about the outbreak of the disease in Niger and the prohibition to buy or sell poultry. It is difficult to abide by. There are 400 or 500 of us here and at the Kadiro market doing the business to earn a living. Now with so few poultry available, the prices are reaching the sky…"
At age 39, Moutari has been selling poultry since he was 9. He has never known any other work.
Over the years, he has been able to build a small network of suppliers covering more than 40 villages and 10 markets. He hires about 20 people, full time. He owns several small grill rooms throughout Maradi.
"Only yesterday," he continued, "hens were seized and killed by the gendarmes and a local counselor at the market of Dan-Dadi and no compensation was made. The poultry salesmen are going to fall into fraud, endangering the life of the consumers and exposing themselves to the rigours of the laws."
"I used to sell up to 500 chickens a day, but I hardly sell 10 these days. I have two wives and 13 children to feed," Moutari said. "We are heading towards a tragedy."
CARE is closely monitoring how avian flu will affect already-vulnerable households and developing programs to help curb the economic impact of the disease on people like Moutari who rely on poultry for their livelihoods. The loss of seven or eight chickens — valued at $3 to $4 each — can be extremely severe for families struggling to survive on less than $100 a year.
We're also working with governments to help them prepare for and contain avian flu at the source. CARE urges the United States government to lead the international community in providing adequate resources for fighting avian flu, and to ensure that these resources are targeted for poor communities in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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