Donors’ contributions not matching scale of Mali emergency
Some time ago, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR together with the WFP made a donors appeal for support to address the huge humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the worsening security situation in Mali.
Children and women are facing the brunt of the man-made and natural disaster engulfing Mali, as the armed conflict continues and the severe food crisis caused by drought persists.
The needs of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees are huge. For example, there are said to be critical gaps existing in water and sanitation, as well as other aid which relief officials say are ‘’below emergency standard.’’
But contributions received so far have been just a little over US$21 million.
As WADR’s Frank Sainworla reports, the contributions have not matched the scale of the Mali emergency to date.
The UNHCR says insecurity in northern Mali and political instability in Bamako continue to spark the influx of refugees into neighboring countries.
In addition to the insecurity, the UN refugee agency says there’s also “a general lack of funding for the Mali situation,” which “continues to severely hamper relief operations on the ground,”
The relief operation still suffers a budget shortfall of US$153.7m.
‘’Time is crucial, given the food crisis in the Sahel region, the coming rainy season and the instability in Mali,’’ the UNHCR says.
According to UNHCR’s latest report, nearly 77-thousand people are so far seeking refuge in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritanian, with 20,000 Malian refugees arriving in those countries since May.
It also says an additional 148,000 plus men, women and children have become internally displaced in Mali due to the crisis.
Although security remains a major challenge for it and all humanitarian actors, UNHCR has said borders between Mali and neigbouring countries remain opened and refugees are not turned back.
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