EU gives €9 mln euro aid for northern Mali

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Kristalina Georgieva, Wednesday warned that unless there is rapid progress in the coming days to open the humanitarian space and allow supplies of food and medicines into northern Mali, there will be a major humanitarian disaster which could spill over to neighbouring countries. In a statement here tonight, she announced an additional 9 million euro humanitarian aid in northern Mali, but fighting and insecurity are hindering aid delivery to those most in need. Violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of people either within northern Mali (the estimated number of internally displaced persons exceeds 100,000) or over the borders in neighbouring states, mostly Algeria, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso (around 136,000 refugees in total). "Many among the displaced were already on the edge of survival due to the Sahel food crisis. I fear that the recent violence will exacerbate further the food emergency both in northern Mali and in neighbouring countries where refugees are flowing to areas of acute food insecurity. This is why the Commission is stepping up our humanitarian aid to those forced to flee the conflict," said Georgieva. This 9 million euro of funding comes on top of the over 280 million euro which the EU's executive body has mobilised to address the food crisis that is affecting eight countries of the West Africa region. Mali is one of the worst-affected with 1.4 million people now in need of emergency food assistance.