Mali Crisis Update No. 5 Regional Bureau for West Africa

11 January 2013

Food and nutrition assistance to people affected by the Mali crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger

WFP provides food and nutrition assistance to populations affected by the crisis in Mali (southern and northern regions) as well as to Malian refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

WFP has evacuated its staff from Mopti Sub-office on Friday and is monitoring the situation in view of additional displacement in Mali and to neighbouring countries.

In close collaboration with partners, WFP has put in place contingency plans and preparedness measures to respond to potential increased needs should the situation deteriorate further.

Through its local partner carrying out Third Party Monitoring in northern Mali, WFP collects data on beneficiaries and the use of commodities, as well as on market indicators.

Some 150,000 Malians are currently registered as refugees in Burkina Faso (38,776), Mauritania (54,117) and Niger (50,0001), while nearly 199,000 people are internally displaced in Mali.

1 UNHCR estimation of the revised figure pending availability of results from the level II registration exercise.

Mali crisis in figures:

Nearly 199,000 people displaced in Mali.

Some 150,000 people are currently registered in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

Some 335,000 IDPs and Malian refugees were supported so far by WFP (200,000 refugees, and nearly 135,000 IDPs).

200,000 non-displaced people in Northern Mali supported so far.

Note: Number of refugees supported is based on previous refugee numbers.

Photo: Distribution of nutrition rations in Kayes, Mali. WFP/Rein Skullerud

Resourcing priorities: In 2013, WFP will assist internally displaced people, host communities and other vulnerable groups under the new Mali EMOP 200525 in all regions of Mali. WFP urgently requires additional funding amounting to over USD 137.22 million to implement this operation.

Furthermore, under the extended and revised Regional EMOP 200438, WFP will support refugees and host communities in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mauritania. WFP is seeking additional donor support amounting to over USD 73.48 million to be able to provide urgent food and nutrition assistance to refugees fleeing the conflict in Northern Mali, and their host communities.

Operational update

Regional overview

The humanitarian and security conditions for populations in Northern Mali remain of major concern, and the operational context to reach people in need remains challenging. WFP provides assistance in northern Mali with NGOs who have access to populations, and has contracted a local NGO to carry out third party monitoring.

Given the volatility of the situation in Northern Mali and the neighboring countries’ Sahel regions, humanitarian partners are in the process of elaborating contingency plans based on possible scenarios to best prepare for potential new and increased needs.

The Regional Emergency Operation, designed to provide assistance through targeted food distributions, cash transfers and nutrition activities for up to 555,000 beneficiaries until December 2012 (Burkina Faso 100,000, Mali 300,000, Mauritania 95,000 and Niger 60,000), has now been extended into 2013 to support some 300,000 beneficiaries. The Mali component has been moved to a single-country EMOP in Mali to provide combined assistance to displaced and host populations in southern and northern regions.

In response to the recent Sahel crisis, WFP has been providing food and nutrition assistance to people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and The Gambia. Preliminary findings from crop assessments conducted in all Sahel countries by CILSS/FAO/WFP/FEWSNET in October/November 2012 indicate that overall, results are favourable, both with regards to cereal production and the pastoral situation. Coarse grain prices have started their normal seasonal decline. Nevertheless, they remain at high levels compared to the 5-year average.

WFP assistance in November

Assistance provided to people affected by the Mali crisis in November2:

(Regional EMOP and Mali EMOP in the North)

In November, WFP supported some 170,000 Malian refugees, and some 74,789 IDPs alongside support to 58,901 non-displaced conflict affected people in northern Mali. While the monthly plan in Burkina Faso is set at 40,000 (to allow for potential new arrivals), nearly 31,000 refugees turned up at distribution sites to collect their food rations. In Mauritania, out of the 109,000 refugees planned to be supported prior to the finalization of the level II registration exercise, monthly food rations were distributed in favour of 94,000 beneficiaries and 3,300 children under the age of two through nutrition activities including targeted and blanket supplementary feeding, i.e. aiming at treating those who already suffer from moderate acute malnutrition and preventing children from falling into acute malnutrition.

SMART surveys conducted in the refugee camps (in Mauritania and Niger) over the past months show that the nutrition status among refugee children is of concern. WFP is scaling up and/or adjusting its nutrition activities in the camps as needed. In Niger for example, WFP has provided BSF rations for 1,863 children, and started a modified approach to BSF through wet rations to children in camps in December alongside targeted food distributions to some 45,000 refugees.

2 Data on December distributions will be available soon and included in the next update.

Activity Burkina Faso

Mali Mauritania Niger Total

Targeted food distributions 30,964 133,690 93,834 45,609 304,097

Targeted supplementary feeding (children and women) 2,610 1,048 3,658

Blanket supplementary feeding (children) 67,282 2,324 1,863 71,469

Total 30,964 133,690 93,834 45,609 304,097

Malnutrition screening in Kayes, Mali. WFP/Rein Skullerud

Burkina Faso

To date, 38,776 Malian refugees are registered in Burkina Faso (UNHCR 12 December 2012). Refugees are hosted mainly across sites in the Sahel region in the north-east of the country and in the urban areas of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. WFP provides general food distributions to refugees, in close collaboration with the Burkina Faso Red Cros, and targeted supplementary feeding for children with moderate acute malnutrition. Host communities also receive assistance.

In December, some 29,100 refugee children, women and men were assisted across all refugee sites. As of 30 December, 38,776 Malian refugees are registered in Burkina Faso.

The relocation of Malian refugees from the site of Fererio to that of Goudebou is ongoing. WFP continues to provide newly arrived refugees with a hot meal. In December, three convoys of refugees took place with the last one on 21 December. A total of 3,767 refugees have been moved from sites within 50 km of the Malian border to Goudebo to reduce security risks.

Mali

An estimated 199,000 people are currently displaced in Mali, over one quarter of whom are in northern Mali (Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal). Most IDPs are staying with host families though there are some informal settlements in Mopti and Bamako.

The new emergency operation providing assistance to crisis-affected populations in Mali, IDPs, host families and fragile communities is currently targeting a total of 564,000 beneficiaries throughout the country.

In view of latest events in northern Mali, WFP has evacuated its staff from Mopti sub-office and will monitor the situation accordingly in view of the security situation and additional displacement.

The Blanket supplementary feeding programme is ongoing in the northern regions of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal. The preventive activity continues to target an increased caseload of children aged 6 to 59 months as many of the health centers in the northern regions are not functioning. In the few places where health centres do continue to function, treatment activities are being undertaken. These activities are implemented in collaboration with NGO ACF in the Gao, Bourem and Ansongo districts of the Gao region.

WFP has started the January round of general food distributions to vulnerable populations across the eight regions of Mali.

208 schools have now been identified as functioning in Gao and Kidal regions by the Education Cluster.

WFP and UNICEF are starting with gradual assistance to 20 schools in Gao for subsequent expansion. No functioning schools have yet been identified in Timbuktu region.

In southern Mali, emergency school feeding is currently ongoing in 290 schools in Mopti, Kayes and Koulikoro regions.

Since access to the North became restricted to UN personnel and the WFP Sub-Offices in Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal are temporarily closed, WFP intervenes through nine cooperating international NGO partners for the implementation of targeted food distributions and blanket supplementary feeding in 10 administrative districts, the “cercles” of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal region, and through a separate partner for the Third Party field monitoring. Furthermore, WFP coordinates with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) through geographical distribution of intervention zones and complementation of activities. Where ICRC distributes food, WFP complements with its preventive nutritional activity, and where WFP implements targeted food distributions, ICRC complements with the distributions of non-food items, livestock feed and vaccination, and support to vegetable production.

Mauritania

To date, 54,117 refugees are registered in Mauritania (UNCHR 5 December 2012), most of whom are vulnerable women and children from pastoralist or trader households. The refugees are mainly settled at the M’bera camp. Alongside the provision of targeted food distributions to all refugee households, children 6-59 months with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and malnourished pregnant women and nursing mothers are receiving treatment through targeted supplementary feeding. Food distributions are being carried out on a monthly basis in partnership with the Mauritanian Government’s Food Security Commission (CSA) and UNHCR.

In the event of a further deterioration of the security situation in Northern Mali triggering additional displacement, the revised Regional EMOP provides for assistance to up to 90,000 refugees and 24,000 people among the host communities. Food needs will need to be prepositioned to get prepared for such an eventuality.

Under the most recent distribution cycle, food distributions to refugees have started as of 22 December 2012 and are ongoing. Overall, 54,200 beneficiaries are being assisted under these activities. As part of the blanket supplementary feeding activity, the third distribution of food commodities was completed. Overall, 2,429 children were assisted.

Six targeted supplementary feeding centres (CRENAMs) for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition of children aged 6 – 59 months are operational in the camp. To date, 4,218 malnourished children and pregnant women and nursing mothers have received nutritional support.

Niger

Some 50,000 refugees following the Mali crisis are currently registered in Niger (UNHCR estimation pending level II registration, 31 December 2012), mainly living in camps and makeshift settlements in the severely food insecure Tahoua and Tillaberi regions of western Niger along the border with Mali. Since February, WFP has been providing food assistance to an average of 45,000 refugees per month through general food distributions and to 2,000

children aged 6-23 months through the blanket feeding programme.

Wet feeding, which is blanket supplementary feeding in the form of a cooked ration, has started in the four refugee sites of Abala, Mangaize, Ayorou and Tillia. WFP plans to assist nearly 14,390 children aged 6 to 59 months during a three month period. This approach has been adopted in collaboration with UNHCR in view of the alarming malnutrition rates among refugee children.

Cooperating NGO partners and UNHCR are now involved in the wet feeding activities, ensuring its implementation by providing the three daily meals in each refugee camp. The totality of non-food items required to prepare these meals has been received by partners and UNHCR. Mothers who can read, write and speak at least two languages spoken in the camps were recruited and trained as field aid monitors by the partners to prepare and oversee the distributions of these rations.

Logistics

In Mali, contacts are currently being made with WFP Niger on warehousing for partners in Niger for cross border operations and the use of Niger corridors for Mali.

In Mauritania, activities are continuing for the construction of the humanitarian compound facility in Nema. This would greatly improve the regional coordination as well as the security conditions.

Resourcing

Resourcing priorities: In 2013, WFP will assist the internally displaced, host communities, as well as other

vulnerable groups under the new Mali EMOP 200525. WFP urgently requires additional funding amounting to over USD 137.22 million to implement this operation. Furthermore, under the extended and revised Regional EMOP 200438, WFP will support refugees and host communities in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mauritania. WFP is thus seeking donors' support amounting to over USD 73.48 million to be able to provide urgent food and nutrition assistance to refugees fleeing the conflict in Northern Mali, and their host communities.

UNHAS plane in Bassikounou Airstrip, Mauritania.

Photo: WFP/Mauritania.

Mali crisis – 2013 Project Overview:

Under the new Mali EMOP 200525, WFP provides emergency food assistance, nutritional support and emergency school feeding to 564,000 vulnerable people affected by the crisis who are located in the occupied North and in the government-controlled areas of the South throughout 2013. This country-specific project targets an estimated 401,000 most vulnerable people affected by the crisis located in the Northern parts of Mali. In the South, WFP aims at reaching 135,000 vulnerable people. The nutritional component of the operation aims at reaching about 141,900 children under five and pregnant and lactating women across the country. All beneficiary figures have been based on the multi-dimensional needs assessments, such as the EFSA, SMART, market analysis, and others multi-cluster assessments.

The EMOP requires about 9,000 mt per month of mixed commodities to serve the current beneficiary caseload. Cereals comprises the bulk of the requirements, with an average 6,000 mt required per month for general food distributions. WFP would need about US$ 7million per month to purchase and distribute 6,000 mt of rice to beneficiaries (amounting to USD 42 million to cover the next six months alone). At the moment, less than 1,000 mt of cereals are available for distribution. With new pledges from donors, WFP could immediately and locally purchase rice and millet to avert the imminent pipeline breaks.

Regional Emergency Operation 200438 Assistance to Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Affected by Insecurity in Mali: Requirements for the regional emergency operation amount to USD 148.03 million, out of which 73.48 million still need to be resourced (50 percent).

This EMOP is extended until 31 December 2013 and no longer active in Mali, but only the neighboring countries since 1 January 2013. WFP is thus seeking donors' support amounting to over USD 70 million to be able to provide urgent food and nutrition assistance to refugees fleeing the conflict in Northern Mali, and their host communities.

In 2013, UNHAS Mali (SO 200521) utilizes a B1900D aircraft, based in Bamako, to support the humanitarian community. A total of USD 4.5 million is urgently required to kick-start this operation.

The new Mali Special Operation in support of the Logistics and the Emergency Telecommunications Clusters is appealing for funding amounting to US$3.41 million. In anticipation of a potential military intervention and an economic downturn in 2013, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in Mali is currently scaling up its emergency preparedness measures. In order to ensure business continuity for the humanitarian community and for the event of potential reduced access to private sector logistics services, the Logistics Cluster and the ETC are preparing a capacity augmentation. The Logistics Cluster and ETC will secure the human resources, the financial and the material means, as well as the coordination of all partners, in order to efficiently support the humanitarian community. The framework for the Logistics Cluster and ETC’s response will be a WFP Special Operation.

Contact

Regional Bureau for West Africa, Senegal:

Thomas Yanga, Regional Director, Dakar: +221 33 849 65 00, thomas.yanga@wfp.org

Claude Jibidar, Deputy Regional Director, Dakar: +221 33 849 65 00, claude.jibidar@wfp.org

For further information: www.wfp.org