NGOs appeal for donations to address food crisis in northern Mali

Eleven humanitarian organizations on Friday raised the alarm on the "extremely critical" food situation in northern Mali and appealed for an immediate increase of emergency humanitarian aid. "Over 800,000 people are in need of immediate food aid in Mali. About three million people risk not having anything to eat in the coming months," the organizations said in a statement. They noted that over half of those facing food insecurity are living in northern Mali. The effects of the armed conflict combined with the 2012 food crisis in the country considerably affected the population, limiting their access to food and income generating activities, the statement explained. The poor harvests in the last two years and the unstable security situation continues to worsen the vulnerability of the population, the NGOs warned. The signatories of the statement included ACF, ACTED, AVSF, CARE International, Danish Refugee Council, Handicap International, IRC, Plan International, Oxfam, Solidarities International and World Vision. The NGOs noted that the United Nations appeal for humanitarian aid to Mali in 2013 only achieved 55 percent of the required aid. Osseni Amadou, humanitarian coordinator for Care International- Mali, said food and nutritional assistance for northern Mali regions should be reinforced in 2014. Mohammed Coulibaly, the director for Oxfam-Mali added that "the response to humanitarian needs should be combined with a commitment to finding a sustainable solution." He said it was essential to invest in agricultural and livestock policies that place family activities as the priority for the government and humanitarian actors The NGOs said it was important to address the deeper causes of food insecurity by putting in place social protection policies as well establishing national and local food reserves