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Conflict in Mali could increase malnutrition warns Action Against Hunger
As more than 75,000 people flee their homes to escape violence in northern Mali between the Tuareg rebels and the army, Action Against Hunger grows deeply concerned about the impact of conflict on the delivery of humanitarian aid to an already fragile region.
As a major food crisis creeps over the Sahel, one million children are facing severe acute malnutrition by spring. The region is at a critical period of food insecurity and movements of refugees could have a major impact on the availability and prices of foods in local markets, which could severely affect the most vulnerable communities who are already trapped in a cycle of poverty and hunger.
“There is a major difference to this upcoming crisis and the previous food crises of 2005 and 2010,” explains Rafael de Prado, responsible for coordinating Action Against Hunger’s programmes in the Sahel. “The climate of political and social instability and the presence of armed groups is an aggravating factor, and along with severe weather and economic conditions, we fear the worst for the spring. Violence and a lack of food is an explosive cocktail. We must bear in mind that the end of conflict in neighbouring Libya has left many militants in the region, who had migrated from Mali to join the Libyan forces. Plus, it is no coincidence that the two previous Tuareg rebellions of recent years [1973 and 1986] both occurred following respective droughts.
“We are currently, by international standards, in phase three of an acute food crisis. Some populations, specifically in areas affected by the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali and the latest violence in Nigeria, may soon officially enter phase four – a humanitarian emergency, if the situation of displaced families and refugees continues to worsen. The subsequent phase, level five, would be a famine – where there are more than two deaths per 10,000 people each day, less than four litres of water per person, and more than 30 per cent of the population suffering from acute malnutrition,” continues de Prado.
Action Against Hunger, following a long term presence across the region, is currently assisting 800,000 people across Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Senegal. A response plan has been developed, divided into three phases: mitigation, emergency response and long term rehabilitation.
