Lying on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, the landlocked West African nation of Niger struggles to overcome an array of development challenges. The ever-encroaching Sahara desert covers over 80 percent of the country, and the non-desert portions of the country regularly fall victim to droughts and food crises.¹ With decades of socio-political instability, one of the highest population growth rates in the world, and 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line, Niger faces a long development road ahead.²

In response to these challenges, the Government of Niger adopted the National Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2002, which was followed up in 2007 with the Accelerated Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (ADPRS) for 2008 - 2012. The

Underpinning the ADPRS 2008 - 2012 is the NigerInfo database, a country adaptation of the DevInfo database system containing national and sub-national data on 306 indicators from various socio-economic sectors. Managed by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), NigerInfo houses data for all indicators included in the various sector strategies of the ADPRS and is considered the central database for all statistical organizations in Niger.

According to Ousmane Souleymane, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Niger, “NigerInfo has played a crucial role in supporting the monitoring of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper in Niger. It has contributed data for a comprehensive list of indicators used in the analysis, monitoring and evaluation of poverty.”

To ensure that the NigerInfo database system successfully supports the ADPRS, the INS has developed a network of 31 focal points - Directors of Statistics from the government’s different sectoral ministries – to help maintain and update the database.

This year the ADPRS is being revised to address new development challenges facing the country.