Highlights

Nutrition Crisis - Now in the height of the lean season, the worst is yet to come for children in the Sahel region. While over 18 million persons face food insecurity this year, more than 4 million children under five years old are at risk of acute malnutrition. Of them, 1.1 million children under five are at risk of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and in need of life-saving treatment.

Mali Complex Emergency - The combination of drought, food insecurity and conflict has compelled more than 360,000 people to flee their homes, many of them are children. There are more than 155,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mali while upwards of 205,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Emerging threats - With the beginning of the rainy season, a new threat has appeared: on 20 June, the government of Niger appealed for international support to fight the early stages of an invasion of desert locusts in northern Niger. If not treated immediately, this plague will put the forthcoming harvest season (SeptemberNovember) at high risk. The locusts are coming from outbreak areas along both sides of the Algeria/Libya border where infestations were triggered by desert rainfalls, and control operations were hampered by armed conflicts and insecurity. Swarms also observed in northern Mali and Chad. - The risk of cholera outbreaks is growing with the arrival of the rainy season, against the backdrop of a poorly funded WASH sector.

Funding - Fundraising is progressing, but with a funding gap of 51% (USD 122,038,825) of the total needs for the integrated response to the nutrition, Mali and cholera crises.