As many of you are aware, on July 26th there was a military takeover of the government in Niger. This has happened all too often in Niger (4 times since its independence in 1960) and too often in the African Sahel (6 countries in the last 3 years). Niger was considered the most stable country in the region and served as a base for the fight against Islamist militants by many countries, including the US. The stated reasons for the coup are to improve the country’s security and economy, but there is wide speculation about other possible motives.
Hamani Djibo, President of LIBO, the NGO implementing our EPN projects, reports that everyone in his organization is safe and that routine life is little changed for now. It is likely to take weeks or months before we know what impacts, if any, this will have on our programs and plans.
Speaking of changes to our plans, the week before the coup we held an internal meeting to review our readiness to launch technician training at the Dov Institute this October. We concluded that there was simply too much work to do and too little time to get it all done. We considered delaying just a few months to January, but that timing is not ideal from an academic or agricultural perspective. So, we all agreed that October 2024 should be our new launch date.
It's not clear what impact last week’s coup will have on all of this. If improving economic conditions is truly one of the goals, then the Dov Institute is well positioned. Our plan is to continue preparations for an October 2024 launch, monitor conditions closely, and make whatever adjustments may be required as the future becomes clearer.
Most importantly, we remain committed to do all we can to Eliminate Poverty NOW!