IFRC appeals for complex emergency in Mali amid ‘escalating needs’

By the Climate Centre

The IFRC yesterday published its 8 million Swiss franc emergency appeal for Mali, a country it says is “grappling with multi-faceted crises driven by floods, armed conflict, and mass displacement.”

From late October, Mali has experienced what are described as the worst floods in decades (photo), exacerbating a surge in security incidents, all of which has affected nearly 400,000 people; at the end of May, there were already just over 330,000 IDPs in the country. 

Ninety-one people are reported to have died in the floods, which have compromised drinking water and sanitation by inundating nearly 5,500 wells and nearly 20,000 latrines.

The government has declared a national disaster which has delayed the start of the school year.

As of the end of September, the UN reported that its response plan for Mali was less than 30 per cent covered, “highlighting the ongoing resource challenges amid the escalating needs.”

Climate-smart agriculture

This month’s IFRC emergency appeal will enable the Mali Red Cross to assist 200,000 people in, especially, Bamako, Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Gao, Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu, prioritising IDPs and migrants and other vulnerable groups in hard-to-reach areas often inaccessible to other aid agencies; a secondary focus will be on communities in flood-prone riverside areas.

Phase 1 to December aims to meet the most pressing humanitarian needs, while a second phase lasting to next October will encompass cash and in-kind support to kick-start community recovery, including epidemic preparedness and climate adaptation.  

“Floods and droughts, exacerbated by climate change, are severely impacting livelihoods in the country,” the IFRC appeal says.

“To enhance community resilience, actions such as raising awareness of climate issues, training local disaster management committees, emergency planning, promoting climate-smart agriculture, and improving water-resource management will be implemented.”

The new appeal was launched earlier with a 1 million Swiss franc allocation from the Disaster Response Emergency Fund.

The Climate Centre’s own country profile says: “The diverse and varied geography of Mali means that it is exposed to a broad array of environmental hazards … exacerbated by the impacts of climate change across the country.”

Floods in Mali that began in late October are described as the worst in decades. In the photo, Mali Red Cross volunteers help residents sandbag a vulnerable area. (Photo: MRC via social media)