The Sahel Food Crisis and #SahelNow

 by Unicef-USA

The lives of 1,000,000 children are at risk right now in the Sahel region in West and Central Africa. Crops have failed. Families have nothing to eat.

We can save them if we act now. Sound the alarm. Share this video. http://youtu.be/zRg9izN6T3s

We can rush food, nutrition and other emergency relief to help children in the region, but we need your help. We have to alert the world about this looming crisis. We need your help to sound the alarm.

Make sure you’re following http://www.facebook.com/UNICEF-USA and http://twitter.com/unicefusa

Mali Crisis: Life on the Edge of a War Zone

By Helen Blakesley: Regional Information Officer, CRS

It’s not every day you’re sent to a war zone. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. I’m not behind the lines where the military operations are going on. But I am in a country where a state of emergency has been declared.

I’m in Bamako, the capital of Mali, a country in West Africa where life expectancy is 53 years and where just 20 per cent of women can read and write. Mali is so much more than that though. It’s a beautiful place where the majestic River Niger winds from dusty swathes in the north to mango trees and banana fronds in the south. A place whose music boasts a worldwide reputation. A place, until last year, held up as an example of political stability and a magnet for tourists. Sadly, it’s now the subject of the biggest news story coming out of Africa – and consequently, one of the most worrying humanitarian situations too.

International Medical Corps Conducts Emergency Assessment in the Town of Konna to Identify Critical Needs of Conflict-Affected Malians

By International Medical Corps

 

International Medical Corps has conducted the first rapid, multi-sectoral humanitarian assessment in the town of Konna, Mali – where a rebel takeover triggered French military airstrikes that have caused massive civilian displacement throughout the country. International Medical Corps’ Emergency Team assessed Konna's health, nutrition, water supply, sanitation and hygiene services, along with other urgent needs.

International Medical Corps’ team was allowed only four hours in Konna, which is currently under control of the Malian army. The team met with community leaders to assess the town’s current humanitarian situation and discuss its residents’ most urgent needs. All sectors of the community participated, including the mayor, women’s groups, local health associations and youth groups. International Medical Corps also visited homes in several parts of the town to see firsthand the household-level impact of the conflict.

Photos:  WFP Responds to Emergency Food Needs in Mali

By WFP

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Photo gallery: A Snapshot of Life for the Displaced in Mali's Capital, Bamako

 By Helene Caux, Senior Regional Public Information Officer for West Africa

 

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Twenty-year-old law student Fatoumata with her baby niece and her younger sister, Larene, in their spartan living area in Bamako. They fled their home in the Gao region in late May after their father was killed by rebels. They pay about US$40 for rent, but there is no electricity and they have to share a bathroom and toilet with another displaced family.
© UNHCR/H.Caux

Almost a year after fighting erupted in northern Mali between government troops and a Tuareg rebel movement, almost 200,000 people are internally displaced in Mali. Most have fled to areas in the south of the county, including Segou, Mopti, Kayes and the capital, Bamako, where some 47,000 people have found refuge. They come mainly from the Timbuktu and Gao regions, which are now under the control of Islamic extremist groups.

Many of the displaced have been victims of human rights abuses at the hands of the armed groups and Islamic extremists operating in the north. Women and girls have been raped, men have had limbs amputated, people have been tortured or murdered. In Bamako, many of the survivors of abuse are in urgent need of medical and psychological assistance. In addition, the internally displaced in urban areas struggle to make ends meet, buy food, pay their rent and secure employment. The children often go to school on an empty stomach in the morning. The international community, including UNHCR and its partners, urgently need funding to help the most vulnerable displaced people in Mali. The following images depict daily life in Bamako for internally displaced people.

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Central Emergency Response Fund´s support to the Sahel

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel David Gressly at the CERF High-level pledging conference. CREDIT: UNOCHA

What does Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) mean?