Flood management, lower health care prices, and public markets

Minutes of the Ministerial Meeting on Thursday, August 22, 2024:

The Council of Ministers, chaired by His Excellency Brigadier General Abdulhamane Tiyani, Chairman of the National Council for the Defence of the Fatherland and Head of State, reviewed several important issues on the agenda. The following are the main decisions taken during this session:

1. Flood prevention management

The Council reviewed the flooding situation caused by the torrential rains, which resulted in a large number of casualties and material losses.

Losses of personnel and materials:

• Loss of life: As of August 20, 2024, 217 people have died, including 108 deaths from drowning and 109 deaths from house collapse. In addition, 200 people were injured.
• Material damage: A total of 46,525 households and 353,287 people were affected. The floods caused the collapse of 39,479 houses, 883 huts, 81 classrooms, 3 health huts, 4,289 walls, 735 sheds, 402 shops and 953 attics. In addition, 16,965 livestock died and 21,145 tons of food were lost.

Government response:

• Humanitarian Aid: As of August 15, 2024, 31,963 households and 245,098 people have received food assistance.
• Infrastructure repair: SATOM and Morey, in collaboration with local technical services, are carrying out repair work on damaged roads, particularly on the Agadez-Tahoua, Niamey-Ouallam axes and on the RN31 road.

Operating Financing:

• The financing of flood management operations will be provided mainly from the State’s own resources. FCFA 2 billion from the CoLDEFF recovery will be allocated to these operations. In addition, the budget restructuring will allocate FCFA 10 billion for flood prevention and management operations.
  

  II. Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs

The Council of Ministers approved a draft decree aimed at harmonizing and reducing prices for health services in public facilities.

New service prices:

• Reduce costs: Treatment consultations, hospital stays, laboratory tests, imaging, and medical and surgical procedures will be reduced by 50% from current rates.
• Free delivery and dialysis: Now, childbirth will be free and the flat rate for lifetime dialysis, initially set at 150,000 FCFA, will be scrapped.

Objective: The measures are aimed at improving access to care for the poorest people, particularly those living in rural areas. They will come into effect on September 1, 2024.

III. Communications on the Award of Public Contracts

The Council took note of the communication from the Minister of National Education regarding the award of public contracts for the purchase of school supplies.

Market Details:

• Amount and recipient: Market size 2 376 930 000 CFA franc HTwas awarded to Établissement Konaté Ali and completed in two months and 15 days.
• obey: This communication complies with regulatory requirements regarding public procurement.

After the agenda was concluded, the meeting was declared closed by His Excellency Brigadier General Abdullah Hamane Tiyani, Chairman of the National Committee for the Defence of the Fatherland and Head of State.

Boubacar Guédé (Nigerien expatriate)