Mali is facing one of its most severe humanitarian emergencies in years, with more than 6.4 million people, over a third of the population, now in urgent need of assistance as conflict, climate shocks and political instability converge.
Children are bearing the heaviest burden, with 3.5 million requiring immediate support and aid agencies warning that conditions are rapidly deteriorating.
The country’s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States and ongoing transition have unfolded against a backdrop of escalating violence. Attacks by non-state armed groups in the central and northern regions have intensified, and insecurity is increasingly spreading south. Renewed clashes between armed groups and national forces have further destabilised the north.
More than 378 000 people have been displaced by the conflict, deepening the strain on already vulnerable communities. United Nations Children’s Fund has expanded its operations and is working with local partners to maintain basic services, but the agency says it urgently needs $132.9 million to reach 2.9 million children most at risk.
The crisis worsened over the past year, with new armed groups emerging, more frequent attacks on convoys and outposts, and violence severely disrupting local economies. Humanitarian operations remain underfunded, and insecurity, access restrictions and threats to aid workers continue to impede relief efforts. Climate-related floods and droughts have also intensified food shortages and malnutrition.
Next year, an estimated 1.5 million children under five are expected to suffer from wasting, including more than 400 000 with severe wasting. Health facilities remain overwhelmed, some damaged or non-functional due to insecurity, while repeated disease outbreaks have further strained the system.
Education has been heavily affected, with nearly 2 000 schools closed and flooding delaying the academic year for hundreds of thousands of children. Protection risks are rising sharply, with displaced children increasingly vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups, family separation, child labour and gender-based violence.
Access to clean water and sanitation is limited for more than a quarter of households, and critically low in the worst-affected regions. Humanitarian agencies warn that without urgent, scaled-up support, the crisis risks deepening further, leaving millions of children without the most basic protections.
–ChannelAfrica–
