A national security stock that now stands at 12,500 mt as against a target of 40,000 mt can be used only when there is a major food crisis. The third instrument is a common donor fund used each year to finance small projects. The Foreign Minister, Mr Nassirou Sabo, said the project would focus on reversing deterioration of the environment and increasing soil fertility. During the signing ceremony, the Italian ambassador stressed his country's desire to help Niger achieve self-sufficiency in food production. On Sunday, May 13, Nigeriens commemorated National Women's Day, marking the 10th anniversary of the famous 1991 march that protested discrimination against women during the Conf rence Nationale et Souveraine, which led to the democratic Third Republic.
Women are also heavily involved in agricultural activities, from sowing to harvesting.
At present, there are only two cabinet ministers are women and there is only one woman among the 83 d put s of the Assembl e Nationale. Formerly the law did not punish practitioners of FGM, which is still widely practiced in Niger and parts of West Africa. FGM is the excision of the clitoris and, in some cases, the labia. The situation is made even more critical by the mass migration of people from north to south in search of food, leaving medical services without sufficient vaccinations. MSF stressed that this situation has led to outbreaks of the two diseases even in areas where the population had previously been vaccinated.