Doctors of the World sounds alarm as 7,000 migrants stranded in Niger’s dessert

More than 7,000 people in an irregular administrative situation, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa (and largely from Niger), were expelled from Algeria to the Assamaka Desert in Niger in April and May 2025. “This is an unprecedented wave of refoulement,” explains Dr. Toupou Lancinet, general coordinator of Doctors of the World in Niger. “Indeed, while these expulsions are frequent, this is the first time that so many migrants have been expelled from Algeria at once,” he added. Furthermore, according to the governorate of Agadez, more than 700 children were registered among the thousands of people expelled from Algeria in April and May. Following the saturation of the transit center for children, the latter were either taken in by volunteer host families or left to fend for themselves on the streets of Agadez.

Drought and lack of drinking water: inhumane conditions 

“These people are crossing the desert in trucks, in extreme weather conditions (drought, temperatures exceeding 111°F, sandstorms) and without any access to medical care, food, or drinking water. They no longer have any material possessions. As they get off the trucks, they rush thirsty to the water points set up by Doctors of the World at the site for people turned away in Agadez,” comments Toupou Lancinet.

An inhumane situation, as Zalika, a young woman interviewed by the Doctors of the World teams, testifies: “The conditions are terrible. The trucks are open to the sky, it’s extremely hot. In the one my husband was in, a man died of dehydration. As soon as we pass through a town, we scream for the driver to stop so we can get water. But he never stops. Some faint, others succumb to their injuries on the way back. It’s horrible.”

In April, the number of migrants hosted at the Agadez reception site increased from 400 to nearly 2,600.

In collaboration with teams from the Agadez health district, Doctors of the World teams (nurses, midwives, psychologists, social workers) are working in particular at the reception and assistance site for migrants in Agadez, providing medical and psychological care to migrants, or redirecting the most serious cases to secondary healthcare facilities. “Generally, this site receives an average of 400 people each month. In April, it received 2,600! We conducted 446 medical consultations during the last five waves of arrivals in April in Agadez. The needs are immense; people often have physical trauma, stomach pain, headaches, respiratory ailments, and skin conditions (especially children under 15, including unaccompanied minors). These illnesses are linked to the unsanitary conditions imposed on them,” warns Toupou Lancinet.

Furthermore, Doctors of the World is alerted by the increasing number of cases of violence, including sexual violence against minors, and illegal seizures of property.

Faced with this emergency situation, Doctors of the World calls for:

• The international community: to ensure respect for the rights of persons in migration situations, in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• The European Union: to ensure greater protection, respect for the rights and dignity of migrants within the framework of the European policy of externalising borders
• Departure, transit and reception countries:
  • to apply the accompanying measures provided for in the event of repatriation in the context of illegal immigration
  • to initiate a humanitarian dialogue in order to obtain alternative and sustainable solutions to meet basic needs (including health care), while respecting the rights and dignity of migrants.

In 2024, more than 15,000 migrants will be helped

Doctors of the World has been working with migrants in Agadez since 2014. The organization provides them with healthcare and psychological support, has set up an infirmary at the site for deported persons, has rehabilitated three integrated health centers, and has deployed mobile clinics in Agadez for people in migration situations and local communities.

Furthermore, Doctors of the World also supports health facilities in Agadez, strengthens the capacities of medical teams, provides medicines and medical supplies to health facilities, and promotes access to health care for women, girls, children and victims of violence.

In 2024, Doctors of the World enabled 11,839 migrants to benefit from appropriate health services (including mental health services) and 4,641 others to benefit from material assistance and food kits in Agadez.

Note: The Agadez Refugee Reception Center for Rejected Migrants is an official center managed by the Governorate of Agadez, in coordination with technical partners. Its purpose is to welcome and guide rejected migrants, primarily from Algeria and Libya, and the majority of them Nigerien nationals, upon their arrival in Agadez

Photograph: 

Kristof Vadino