Geneva, MINA – Nearly 1 million children in Mali face acute malnutrition by the end of this year without humanitarian assistance that can save their lives, while 200,000 children face the prospect of a horrific death from starvation, the UN warned on Friday.
About one in four people in Mali suffer from moderate or acute levels of food insecurity as some 2,500 people, including many children, in the conflict-hit Menaka region face their first-ever famine, the UN said following a visit to Mali by senior officials from UNICEF and United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
“Mali is experiencing a complex humanitarian crisis and requires urgent support to avert disaster for children, who are again bearing the brunt of a crisis not of their own making,” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s senior officer for humanitarian action, in a statement. Anadolu Agency reported.
“UNICE, WFP and their partners have been present on the ground during Mali’s most difficult years and we will continue to work on humanitarian and development issues as long as our services are needed,” he added.
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UNICEF is the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian assistance to children around the world.
Around 5 million children in Mali are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, a dramatic increase from the 1.5 million children in need of assistance since 2020.
Mali has been hit by conflict for more than a decade, including two coups in two consecutive years starting in 2020. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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