WFP has launched an emergency operation to deliver life-saving food assistance to thousands of people fleeing conflict in Mali. As refugees stream into areas already strained by drought in the Sahel, it's imperative to reach them with assistance in time for the summer Hunger Season.
ROME--An emergency operation is underway to reach tens of thousands of people forced from their homes by the conflict in Mali. Many of them have fled to countries like Niger and Mauritania where the local population is struggling to feed itself in the wake of a long drought.
Le Mali, comme la plupart des pays du Sahel, est cette année encore, touché par une crise Alimentaire due à une sècheresse prolongée qui affecte directement 3,5 millions de personnes réparties dans 210 communes. Cette situation se combine à une crise politique laissant le pays divisé. Le fait que de nombreuses personnes soient réfugiées et déplacées sur un vaste territoire complexifie la réponse à apporter par les agences et organisations humanitaires.
Mali - L’OIM lance un appel urgent de 3,5 millions de dollars en vue de fournir une aide vitale d’urgence aux Maliens déplacés qui ont fui les affrontements et l’insécurité au nord du pays pour se réfugier à Bamako, la capitale, à Mopti, ville portuaire du nord et à Kayes, à l’ouest du pays.
NEW YORK, États-Unis, 21 mai 2012 - Comme les agences humanitaires s'alarment d'un manque important de financement pour faire face à la crise au Sahel, l'acteur et Ambassadeur de l'UNICEF, Ewan McGregor, a joint sa voix à tous ceux qui appellent à accentuer l'aide dans cette région.
ROME/GENÈVE- Le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies (PAM) a lancé une opération régionale d’urgence aux côtés du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) pour répondre aux besoins alimentaires spécifiques de centaines de milliers de personnes qui ont fui le conflit au Mali et franchi les frontières vers les pays voisins.
I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
· An agreement between Malian authorities and ECOWAS mediators extends the mandate of interim President Traoré and mandates a one-year transition to civilian rule.
· The number of estimated IDPs in Mali has increased to 150,460 after new assessments were
conducted in Mopti cercles. A monitoring and identification system is being developed to enable
more accurate IDP assessments.
· According to the Government of Mali, 1.76 million people are affected by food insecurity in the north,including Segou and Mopti regions.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
Pour traiter les enfants souffrant de malnutrition, une équipe MSF intervient dans la région de Brakna, depuis début avril. La situation d’insécurité alimentaire est préoccupante dans cette région du sud de la Mauritanie, bordée par le fleuve Sénégal. Les habitants ont commencé à enregistrer, en décembre, des pertes dans leurs troupeaux, car les pluies avaient été insuffisantes l’an dernier. Puis la sécheresse a continué à faire des dégâts.
ROME/GENEVA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a regional emergency operation alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in response to the specific food needs of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled conflict in Mali and crossed the border into neighbouring countries.
Save the Children welcomes the announcement by Minister Carr to increase humanitarian aid to the Sahel region of West Africa where 13 million people are at risk of severe hunger.
The announcement lifts the Australian Government’s aid package to humanitarian relief organisations responding to the West Africa food crisis to $20 million, still way short of the $128 million contributed by the Australian Government to help tackle last year’s food crisis on the other side of the continent in the Horn of Africa.
IOM is urgently appealing for USD 3.5 million to provide immediate life-saving assistance to internally displaced Malians who have fled fighting and insecurity in the north of the country to seek shelter in the capital Bamako, the northern river port city of Mopti and the western city of Kayes.
IOM is also working with local partners, including the Malian Red Cross, the Association of Municipalities of Mali (AMM) and the Malian Civil Protection to gain access to displaced populations (IDPs) who remain trapped in northern conflict areas without adequate aid.
The following pages contain an analysis of each country affected by the Sahel food crisis. For each country, the context is outlined along with an overview of the current situation. Then the Red Cross Red Crescent presence and activity is provided, followed by the capacities, ongoing actions and plans of the national Red Cross or Red Crescent society.
NEW YORK, USA, 21 May 2012 – As aid agencies warn of a major funding shortage for the crisis in the Sahel, actor and UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor has added his voice to those calling for more help for the region.
March 2012: Actor and UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor delivers a public service announcement appealing for aid for children affected by the Sahel food crisis.
3,5 millions de personnes environ sont touchées par la crise alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Mali. 175000 enfants de moins de cinq ans souffrent de malnutrition aiguë sévère dans le pays, et plus 385 000 souffrent de malnutrition aiguë modérée.
La situation qui prévaut au nord du Mali demeure précaire, mais la grande majorité des personnes touchées par la crise alimentaire et nutritionnelle se trouve au sud et nécessite une aide d’urgence.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced today that Australia will contribute an additional $16 million in much needed food and emergency medical assistance to respond to two major escalating crises in Africa.
Senator Carr said the money will assist millions of people affected by drought, local conflict, and the collapse of local markets.
"The food crises in West Africa and South Sudan are escalating at an alarming rate," Senator Carr said.
· Humanitarian agencies continue to negotiate for full access to northern Mali to ensure aid reaches populations in need. On May 16, the Ansar Dine militant group allowed a humanitarian convoy carrying food and medical assistance to reach Tombouctou city, according to international media. In addition, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) reported that 31.5 metric tons of emergency food assistance—sufficient to benefit approximately 7,800 conflict-affected individuals—recently arrived in Gao, Kidal, and Tombouctou regions in northern Mali.
This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 08 May - 14 May, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.
NOUAKCHOTT, May 18, 2012 (AFP) - Several people were hurt and arrested in Mauritania on Friday as police fired tear gas and beat back protesters demanding that President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz step down in a fresh anti-regime protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
The protest began in downtown Nouakchott after Friday prayers in the majority Muslim country, and follows a similar protest on Thursday and others in recent weeks as opposition discontent with Abdel Aziz' regime grows.
