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Malaria is a common public health problem in Sub-Saharan African countries such as Niger and one child dies every two minutes due to this disease. Although the defense mechanism is not clear, sickle cells are 90% protective especially for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. In Niger, malaria is among the first to be considered in patients admitted to the emergency departments (EDs) with high fever. It is important for physicians to resolve the clinical manifestation in a patient who admits due to acute abdominal pain and high fever in a hospital with limited facilities. Failure to provide information about the patient’s history and admission to the ED alone led to a delay of diagnosis and treatment of this rare coexistence.

Background: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic unfolds, laboratory services have been identified as key to its containment This article outlines the laboratory organisation and management and control interventions in Niger Intervention: The capitol city of Niger, Niamey, adopted a ‘National COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan’ to strengthen the preparedness of the country for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 Laboratory training and diagnostic capacity building were supported by existing active clinical and research laboratories for more rapid and practicable responses The National Reference Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses located at the Centre de Recherche Medicale et Sanitaire was designated as the reference centre for COVID-19 testing The national plan for COVID-19 testing is being gradually adopted in other regions of the country in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 emergency and to ensure a more rapid turn-around time Lessons learnt: After the decentralisation of COVID-19 testing to other regions of the country, turn-around times were reduced from 48–72 h to 12–24 h Reducing turn-around times allowed Niger to reduce the length of patients’ stays in hospitals and isolation facilities Shortages in testing capacity must be anticipated and addressed In an effort to reduce risk of shortages and increase availability of reagents and consumables, Niamey diversified real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction kits for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 detection Recommendations: Continued investment in training programmes and laboratory strategy is needed in order to strengthen Niger’s laboratory capacity against the outbreak © 2020 AOSIS OpenJournals Publishing AOSIS (Pty) Ltd All rights reserved

The leaf area index of Sahelian rangelands and related variables such as the vegetation cover fraction, the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and the clumping index were measured between 2005 and 2017 in the Gourma region of northern Mali. These variables, known as climate essential variables, were derived from the acquisition and the processing of hemispherical photographs taken along 1 km linear sampling transects for five contrasted canopies and one millet field. The same sampling protocol was applied in a seasonally inundated Acacia open forest, along a 0.5 km transect, by taking photographs of the understorey and the tree canopy. These observations collected over more than a decade, in a remote and not very accessible region, provide a relevant and unique data set that can be used for a better understanding of the Sahelian vegetation response to the current rainfall changes. The collected data can also be used for satellite product evaluation and land surface model development and validation. This paper aims to present the field work that was carried out during 13 successive rainy seasons, the measured vegetation variables, and the associated open database. Finally, a few examples of data use are shown. DOI of the referenced data set: https://doi.org/10.17178/AMMA-CATCH.CE.Veg_Gh.

The leaf area index, LAI, of Sahelian rangelands and related variables such as the vegetation cover fraction, fCover, the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, fAPAR, and the clumping index, λo, were measured in the Gourma region (Mali) during 13 successive rainy seasons, between 2005 and 2017. These variables, known as climate essential variables, were derived from the acquisition and the processing of hemispherical photographs taken along 1 km linear sampling transects, for 5 contrasted canopies and one millet field. The same sampling protocol was applied in a seasonally inundated Acacia open forest, along a 0.5 km transect, by taking photographs of the understorey and the tree canopy. These observations collected over more than a decade, in a remote and not very accessible region, provide a relevant and unique data set that can be used for a better understanding of the Sahelian vegetation response to the current rainfall changes. The collected data can also be used for satellite product evaluation and land surface model development and validation.

Background: Cholera is an infectious disease caused by a gram negative bacteria, Vibrio cholerae. It was found for the first time in Niger during year 1970 and continues to occur as an issue of major public health importance. Objectives: This study aimed at more accurately defining the burden of cholera in Niger. Methods: Cholera surveillance data from the direction of epidemy surveillance and response reported to the Niger ministry of public health and the world health organization were reviewed and analyzed to determine trends in cholera disease. Results: Of Niger’s 8 regions or states, 7 were very active in reporting cases each year between 1991 and 2015. Globally, cholera cases and deaths were 26,835 and 1,430, respectively (CFR = 5.3%). Conclusions: Taken together, the epidemiological trends of cholera in Niger showed annual increase in frequency and length of outbreaks during the 21 years under review. To successfully reduce the burden of cholera outbreaks in Niger, concerted efforts by the government and non-government organizations as development partners through longterm investments are urgently needed to strengthen preventive measures for early detection and confirmation of cases, followed by a well-coordinated, timely, and effective response.

Summary Trachoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide and is controlled with an integrated strategy of treatment and prevention which includes latrine provision and promotion. We aimed to evaluate the latrine uptake, construction, and usage in villages participating in latrine promotion programmes supported by The Carter Center in Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria where 113 457 new latrines have been reported from 2002 to 2008. In each country a two stage cluster random sampling design was used to select villages and households for evaluation. Household heads were interviewed using a standardised structured questionnaire and latrines were inspected. The sample included 1154 households (Ghana: 326; Mali: 293; Niger: 300; and Nigeria: 235). Overall, 813 (70.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 65.7-74.8) had pit latrines, ranging from 30.3% of households in Niger to over 92.0% of households in Ghana and Mali. Of those with latrines 762 (93.7%) were found to be usable and 659 (86.5%) were in use. Overall 659/1154 (57.1%) of households in the targeted communities were using latrines at least 12 months after latrine promotion was initiated. Latrine promotion had been successful increasing access to sanitation in different country contexts and demonstrates the target population are willing to construct, use and maintain household latrines.

We conducted a survey in rural Niger to assess use, maintenance and acceptability of household latrines one year after a subsidized promotion project. Standard interviews were conducted with 200 randomly selected project participants and a visual latrine inspection. Before the project, 21.5% (43/200) of households had latrines. After the first year, 100% of these households had at least one latrine. Overall, 2577 household latrines were built in the 50 targeted villages. Latrines were 'always' used by 92.5% of adults and 55% of children in the households. The latrines were adequately maintained: superstructure 93%, covers 74.5%, clean 70%. The main perceived advantages of latrine ownership were proximity/easy access (59.5%) and privacy (22.5%). The project demonstrated that the implementation of a household latrine promotion project is acceptable and feasible in rural Niger. Future promotion projects may develop local sanitation expertise and focus on perceived benefits--proximity and privacy--rather than health.