APA – Bamako (Mali) – Currently, 10 percent of the required funds have been mobilised.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA Mali) recently published its bulletin for April and May warning that living conditions in northern and central Mali are deteriorating, exacerbated by growing insecurity and increasingly limited resources.
The food crisis has reached critical levels, with some 1.3 million people expected to be food insecure between June and August 2024, according to OCHA.
The situation is exacerbated by violence, poor rains and internal displacement, making life unbearable for the local population.
The latest Harmonised Framework – a tool for identifying and analysing food and nutrition security – shows that more than 4 million people are at risk of having their food consumption reduced, increasing the risk of malnutrition, especially among children.
According to OCHA, more than half of the 7.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance are children, putting them on the front line of this crisis.
Faced with this situation, the UN agency stresses that international support remains crucial but insufficient.
Although Japan has recently made a significant contribution, enabling the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to provide shelter and essential items to some 3,000 households in the North and Centre regions, overall funding for the humanitarian response is alarmingly low.
As of May 2024, only 10% of the funding needed for food security had been raised, the lowest level of funding since the crisis began in 2012.
The protection of women and girls is also at risk, the organisation warns. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has documented a 30% increase in incidents of gender-based violence compared to last year.
This violence, often linked to the search for resources such as water, highlights the ongoing challenges of protecting vulnerable populations. Despite our efforts, access to services for survivors remains limited due to insecurity and travel restrictions.
Increasing refugee pressure
In addition to this precarious situation, Mali continues to receive refugees, mainly from Burkina Faso, increasing pressure on already limited resources.
In April 2024, there were 92,272 refugees in the country, a significant increase compared to the end of the previous year. More than 354,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) depend on international assistance for their survival.
Children have been particularly hard hit by the crisis. With more than 1,700 schools closed, mainly in the north and centre of the country, half a million children are deprived of education. Distance learning projects via radio, supported by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and UNICEF, are trying to fill this educational gap, but the challenges remain immense.
According to OCHA, this situation demonstrates that greater mobilisation and more substantial funding are essential to avert a large-scale humanitarian disaster and save lives in the worst-affected regions of the country.
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