Highlights
• The current political instability in Bamako and the insecurity in northern Mali continue to trigger influxes of refugees into Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania. Close to 20,000 Malian refugees have arrived in neighboring countries since mid-May.
• Borders in all four countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania, and Mali) remain open. There are no reports of refoulement or people being turned away from the borders to neighbouring countries.
However, the general security situation in the region remains a challenge for UNHCR and all humanitarian actors.
• Altogether, the crisis has now displaced close to 320,000 people. As of June 4, 170,553 Malians have found refuge in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. Additionally, 148,467 men, women and children are displaced inside Mali.
• UNHCR together with WFP recently launched a regional emergency operation in response to the specific food needs of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled conflict in Mali. The regional operation aims to assist 300,000 internally displaced (IDPs) and 255,000 Malians who have crossed the border in neighbouring countries.
• UNHCR launched a revised appeal providing financial requirements for Malian refugees and internally displaced (IDPs) until the end of the year. The strategy and activities have been defined in close coordination with partners on the ground and cover the needs of 440,000 people. The total financial requirements for the “Emergency Response for the Mali Situation” now amounts to USD 153.7 million.
• A general lack of funding for the Mali situation continues to seriously hamper operations on the ground. While UNHCR is focusing on immediate life-saving activities, in many refugee camps and settlements, critical gaps exists in water and sanitation and basic aid. Refuges are often living on daily water supplies below “emergency standard”. As well, the sanitary conditions in most camps are a recipe for epidemics, especially considering the coming of the rainy season.
• Although UNHCR and its partners are working relentlessly to provide protection and assistance to the refugees, the magnitude of the emergency, the number of displaced people and the serious conditions they are in -- many are suffering from severe malnutrition – requires an urgent increase in the overall response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Funding is urgently needed to improve conditions for displaced Malians.