Nearly 1 million children in Mali face acute malnutrition, with 200,000 at risk of death
The UN has issued a dire warning that nearly 1 million children in Mali are at risk of acute malnutrition by the end of the year, and a staggering 200,000 children face the grim prospect of death by starvation if life-saving humanitarian aid is not provided.
According to the UN, approximately one in four people in Mali is grappling with moderate or acute food insecurity. Particularly alarming is the situation in the conflict-ridden region of Menaka, where around 2,500 individuals, including numerous children, are facing an unprecedented famine.
Senior officials from UNICEF and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) who visited Mali sounded the alarm, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian intervention.
Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's senior official for humanitarian action, emphasized the gravity of the crisis, stating, "Mali is going through a complex humanitarian crisis and needs urgent support to avert a disaster for children, who are again paying the highest price for a crisis not of their making." He also reaffirmed the commitment of UNICEF, WFP, and their partners to continue providing assistance on the ground.
UNICEF, the UN's agency responsible for delivering humanitarian aid to children worldwide, disclosed that approximately 5 million children in Mali are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, marking a stark increase of 1.5 million children in need since 2020.
Mali has been mired in conflict for over a decade, including two coups in successive years starting in 2020.
