February 11th, 2017 ― Doha: The First Lady of the Republic of Niger, H.E. Mrs. Aissata Mahamadou Issoufou, visited Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS) with a diplomatic delegation, on the sidelines of the official visit of H.E. President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou to Doha. February 11th, 2017 ― Doha: The First Lady of the Republic of Niger, H.E. Mrs. Aissata Mahamadou Issoufou, visited Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS) with a diplomatic delegation, on the sidelines of the official visit of H.E. President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou to Doha. The delegation comprised Mr. Ali Mariama El-Hadj Ibrahim, former minister of education and Member of Parliament, Dr. Ramatoulaye Diop Cisse, Vice-President and Health Director of the My Ambition for a Better Life Foundation, the wife of the Ambassador of Niger to Doha, and a number of media and protocol assistants. They were received by Dr. Aisha Yousef Al-Mannai, Vice-President of QRCS, Yousef Ahmed Al-Hammadi, Executive Director, Issa Mohamed Al Ishaq, Director of Communication, Nayef Faisal Al-Mohannadi, Director of Human Resources and Administrative Services, and officials from the Department of Relief and International Development. Dr. Al-Mannai welcomed the guests, who gave an overview of the foundation chaired by Mrs. Issoufou. It addresses health, education, and environment issued, with a special focus on women's empowerment, forced marriage, female education, and refugees. Then, a presentation was made about QRCS's humanitarian activities in Niger since the establishment of a local office in 2005, which in 2013 became a regional office for Western and Central Africa. Over 12 years of work, QRCS's office made remarkable achievements in relief, health care, water & sanitation, and food security, at a total cost of more than $13.3 million. Also, QRCS took part in the development of "Nigériens Nourish Nigériens" (Initiative 3N), Niger's national strategy for achieving food security and sustainable agricultural development. Currently, plans are underway to open a model center for producing improved seeds and training small farmers, to enable food security and economic empowerment for agricultural labor. The First Lady thanked QRCS for its effective humanitarian interventions in Niger, highlighting the important role of its regional center not only for the country, but for Western and Central Africa in general. She called for regular meetings to build upon the current understanding between QRCS and the Foundation in food security, health, and other fields of mutual cooperation. Mr. Al-Hammadi hailed the proposed MoU to join hands under the common goals and scopes of work. "We look forward to your support in facilitating our work in Niger, to continue to serve the needy local communities there. Empowerment and sustainability are top priorities of QRCS's projects, as evident in our project of supporting as many as 8,000 feddans of wheat farms in Syria – a notable success that encouraged many local and international organizations to contribute to this development effort," he added