EU Commissioner Piebalgs and FAO Director-General Graziano da Silva in high-level visit

5 March 2013, Brussels/Rome/Lilongwe - During a high level visit to Malawi, EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, and José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will meet today with President Joyce Banda to discuss the country's challenges on nutrition and food security, and to underline ongoing EU and FAO support in this area.

Malawi has made progress in the fight against hunger but malnutrition remains endemic in the country, with over 47 percent of children suffering from stunting (when growth is held back due to a lack of access to nutritious food). This affects their development and it also causes increased vulnerability to diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said: "The EU and the FAO share the same vision on nutrition and food security, and we will work together to help Malawi, and all of sub-Saharan Africa, tackle this problem. That is why I have announced my commitment to reducing the number of children who are stunted in the world by at least 7 million by 2025 and I am fully committed to make this pledge a reality."

Graziano da Silva, said: "Malawi has committed itself at the highest level to ending hunger and extreme poverty. It recognizes the right to food, invests in excess of 10 percent of its national budget in agriculture, and has transformed itself from an importer into an exporter of maize. The result is that Malawi is on track to meet the Millennium Development hunger target.

"FAO will continue to support the government's efforts in promoting food security and nutrition and tackling extreme poverty through an integrated and coordinated approach, involving social protection and other sectors that contribute to these goals," the Director-General added.

During several meetings to be held with Malawian ministers and authorities, Commissioner Piebalgs and Director-General Graziano da Silva are expected to stress the importance of efficient and effective coordination mechanisms between the different ministries in order to ensure food security.

They will visit a series of EU projects, including food security and agricultural centres, as well as a grain storage facility funded by FAO. They will also meet with representatives from the private sector, where they will also discuss the importance of investing in agriculture, which employs 87 percent of the population and accounts for about 36 percent of GDP, as well as for more than 70 percent of export revenues.

Background

In November 2012 at the EU's European Development Days in Brussels, Commissioner Piebalgs and President Banda signed two agreements. The first, on agriculture, for an amount of €63 million, was designed to strengthen agricultural productivity and expand the area of land under irrigation, doubling household incomes in agriculture and contributing to 6 percent annual growth in Malawi.

The second EU contribution of €35 million will fund cash transfers to extremely poor households to help them out of poverty and hunger. It will make families more resistant to shocks such as high food prices, but will also improve school enrolment and health. This EU support is expected to provide benefits to a total of 83,000 households.

The EU is a major donor in Malawi, spending €605 million under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) between 2008-2013. That money is divided between: General Budget Support (€196 million), agriculture and food security (€188 million) and regional interconnection (€70 million) with a focus on road infrastructure. The rest is spent on areas such as governance, trade, water, HIV-AIDS and gender.

FAO has been supporting Malawi since 1986 in the design and implementation of policies and programmes to improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries and to ensure food security and good nutrition for all.

In the coming year FAO will be focusing on supporting the country in the implementation of its Agriculture Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) which reflects the priorities of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II and the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) of the African Union.

FAO will also, in partnership with the African Union Commission, the EU Commisssion and partners such as Brazil's Instituto Lula call on Member States, Civil Society, the private sector, Regional Economic Communities and Development Partners to join in the proposed partnership for "Intensifying efforts to End Hunger in Africa."

FAO's engagement in this partnership stems from the Organization's recent efforts to strengthen the identification and delivery of a focused set of products and services requested by member states in order to achieve a tangible impact at country level. Towards this aim, FAO is working with all member states to prepare Country Programming Frameworks that identify priority areas of intervention.

FAO's new decentralization strategy and this partnership provide an opportunity to achieve concrete results and maximum impact.

La situation relative au Criquet pèlerin est restée préoccupante en février dans les aires de reproduction hivernale le long des deux rives de la mer Rouge, où les infestations acridiennes ont continué à augmenter.

GAO/DAKAR, 5 mars 2013 (IRIN) - Environ 3 000 Maliens qui ont fui les villes et les villages du nord du pays lors de l'occupation par des hommes armés commencent à rentrer chez eux, mais la grande majorité des réfugiés a choisi de rester dans le Sud ou dans les pays voisins, craignant l'insécurité et les représailles, ainsi que le manque de services de base.

« Les attaques et les combats des derniers jours, la présence d'engins explosifs non éclatés, les craintes de représailles et le manque de services de base sont autant de facteurs qui les dissuadent de rentrer chez eux », a dit Hélène Caux, porte-parole du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR).

La majorité des 170 300 réfugiés enregistrés en Mauritanie, au Burkina Faso, au Niger et en Algérie sont des Touaregs et des Arabes. Nombre d'entre eux craignent les représailles - ils sont pris pour cible par les soldats de l'armée malienne - la criminalité et la présence de djihadistes dispersés au sein des communautés.

Amhedo Ag Hamama est le directeur d'une école de Tombouctou. Ce Touareg, aujourd'hui enseignant bénévole dans le camp de réfugiés de Mbéra, situé à l'est de la Mauritanie, a dit à IRIN : « Personne [à Mbéra] n'a envie de rentrer . Les conditions de vie sont très difficiles ici, il n'y a pas suffisamment de nourriture, les enseignants ne sont pas payés, mais nous ne rentrerons pas s'il n'y a pas de paix durable ».

Bon nombre de réfugiés interrogés par IRIN ont évoqué la rébellion touareg, qui avait secoué le Nord en 1990-1991 et les avait poussés à s'enfuir. « Tant qu'il n'y aura pas de solution durable, nous ne rentrerons pas », a ajouté M. Hamama, « pas si dans un, deux ou trois ans nous sommes forcés de fuir à nouveau . Nous avons peur des représailles. Nous avons peur des attaques des soldats maliens. Personne n'ose rentrer ».

Dans un rapport en date du 1er mars, le HCR indique que des efforts de réconciliation sont nécessaires, ainsi que des efforts pour combattre l'impunité, encourager la coexistence pacifique entre les communautés et aider à la stabilisation à long terme.

Un emploi payé attend M. Hamama à Tombouctou, mais « même l'argent ne me fera pas revenir », a-t-il dit. « Qui peut garantir notre sécurité ? Personne ne peut le faire. Je ne fais confiance à personne ».

Restriction de la liberté de mouvement

Certains aimeraient fuir, mais ils n'en ont pas les moyens. Najim Ould Abadallah, un commerçant arabe, a dit à IRIN qu'il souhaitait aller au Burkina Faso, mais qu'il craignait d'être agressé ou arrêté aux points de contrôle militaires en chemin.

Après s'être caché dans sa maison pendant trois semaines, il a trouvé refuge chez un voisin. À son retour, il a constaté que sa maison avait été pillée - par des soldats maliens, selon un voisin.

Des familles touaregs des villages de la région de Gao sont parties pour la ville de Gao, car elles s'y sentent en sécurité. Ahmed Haïdara, un Touareg de Djebok, à 40km à l'est de Gao, a trouvé refuge chez des parents, dans une cour sablonneuse rattachée à leur maison, située dans la banlieue de Gao. « Nous sommes en sécurité ici. Je fais confiance à l'armée malienne pour nous protéger », a-t-il dit à IRIN. « Il n'y a rien à Djebok, - pas de soldats, pas de policiers. Les islamistes peuvent revenir à tout moment », a-t-il dit à IRIN.

Bon nombre d'éleveurs ont vendu leur bétail pour pouvoir payer leurs frais de transport et n'ont pas les moyens de revenir, selon Judy Dacruz, porte-parole de l'OIM (Office international des migrations). « Bon nombre d'agriculteurs n'ont pas pu planter leurs semences, car ils se sont déplacés ; ils ne pourront pas subvenir à leurs besoins cette année », a-t-elle dit.

Le HCR et l'OIM n'encouragent ni ne favorisent les retours en raison de la situation sécuritaire, mais Mme Caux a noté : « Nous ne pouvons pas empêcher les gens qui le souhaitent de rentrer ».

Certaines familles rejoignent Mopti, ville située dans le centre du Mali, et prennent un bateau pour Tombouctou.

La plupart des personnes interrogées par l'OIM ont indiqué qu'elles souhaitaient rentrer chez elles le plus tôt possible : la grande majorité des réfugiés espèrent rentrer cette année, quelques-uns attendent que la situation se stabilise.

L'OIM, qui travaille avec des organisations non gouvernementales (ONG), comme les Services de secours catholiques (CRS), achemine des colis alimentaires et des kits d'urgence jusqu'aux principaux points de transit, comme Mopti au centre du Mali, pour les distribuer aux familles déplacées.

Gouvernance et services de base

Bon nombre de personnes attendent que la sécurité, les services de bases et les structures de gouvernance - plus particulièrement les maires et le système judiciaire - soient rétablis pour rentrer chez elles. Dans une enquête réalisée par l'OIM, les déplacés maliens indiquent également que l'amélioration de la situation économique est une nécessité.

Des représentants gouvernementaux sont revenus à Gao - ville occupée par des rebelles séparatistes touaregs et des militants islamistes au printemps 2012 - mais ils n'ont pas encore repris leurs fonctions.

La majorité des services sociaux sont toujours fournis par les organisations humanitaires ; les rideaux des magasins sont tirés, les banques, les pharmacies et certains magasins restent également fermés. La plupart des Touaregs et des Arabes ont fui.

Les écoles, qui étaient fermées depuis le début de l'intervention française en janvier, commencent à rouvrir leurs portes. À Tombouctou, les écoles ont rouvert, mais elles sont vides, a dit M. Hamama, car la plupart des élèves et des enseignants vivent toujours dans le camp pour réfugiés de Mbéra.

Les familles qui ont inscrit leurs enfants dans les écoles du sud du pays souhaitent attendre la fin de l'année scolaire avant de les réinscrire ailleurs, a indiqué Mme Caux du HCR.

Les importants flux de réfugiés maliens pourraient peser lourdement sur les infrastructures, notamment sur les points de transit de Mopti et Ségou, où les stocks de nourriture, d'eau et de médicaments vont bientôt manquer, a dit Mme Dacruz. « Le gouvernement et les agences d'aide humanitaire doivent se préparer au retour des PDIP [personnes déplacées à l'intérieur de leur pays] ».

Nouveaux déplacements

Entretemps, les affrontements se poursuivent dans la région montagneuse au nord de Kidal et dans la ville de Gao, provoquant de nouveaux déplacements.

Les agents de l'OIM ont compté que 18 702 personnes supplémentaires avaient fui les zones de conflit depuis le lancement de l'intervention française le 11 janvier 2013.

En février 2013, le pays comptait quelque 260 665 déplacés - contre 227 207 en décembre 2012.

À Tin Zaouatène, ville située dans la région de Kidal au nord du Mali, le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) essaye de venir en aide aux populations en fuite. Les distributions de nourriture et d'autres fournitures à Tin Zaouatène, Kidal et Tessalit ont été perturbées par le conflit et par la fermeture de la frontière algérienne, selon un communiqué du HCR .

« Ils sont venus de Kidal, de Gao et même de Ménaka, située à environ 600 km. Aujourd'hui, nous fournissons de l'aide à 1 100 familles, un chiffre qui pourrait augmenter si les combats se poursuivent », a dit Valery Mbaoh Nana du CICR à Gao.

kh/aj/cb-mg/amz

The March to May Gu rains are expected to be ‘normal’ to ‘below normal’ according to the latest data from the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET). With the rains expected to be average to below average, the food insecure population will likely increase although slightly. The primary areas most likely to be affected are the maize growing agro- pastoral areas of the South.

Niger assisted its neighbour during uprising but has worked hard to shield itself from recent north and west African turmoil

Niger, like Mali, was recently the scene of a military putsch but democracy was soon restored. The Nigerien military handed power back to civilians in 2011, just as they had promised a year earlier when they ousted President Mamadou Tandja, accused of hanging on to power.

Read the full report on the Guardian.

BAMAKO/GENEVA, 5 March 2013 – UNICEF is warning of a rising threat to communities in Central and Northern Mali from ammunition and explosive devices. Since April 2012, 60 victims of explosive remnants of war have been reported , with children making up two thirds of the total. The level of risk is likely to further increase when displaced families start returning home to areas that have seen the worst of the conflict.

Last December, UNICEF estimated that at least 100,000 children and parents were exposed to the dangers of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Northern Mali. This estimate was made before the military intervention, which has involved air strikes and ground operations since January. Approximately 200,000 children from conflict-affected areas in Central and Northern Mali are at risk of injury or death due to explosive remnants of war (ERW), according to UNICEF.

“Children were playing with a device in my courtyard. I thought there was no risk. I threw it on a stone and it exploded”, said 19 year-old Amadou, a UXO survivor from Mopti who lost the finger on his left hand. “When I woke up, there was blood everywhere. My two brothers, 4 and 16, were injured. My niece died. She was only 18 months-old. I feel sad and guilty.”

“The danger is now at every corner in communities from Central and Northern Mali where heavy fighting took place,” said Françoise Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Mali. “Explosions can happen anywhere and anytime -- when children are on their way to school or when a woman goes to the market. Our teams on the ground report charred remains of war vehicles and a lot of abandoned ammunition.”

“A mother will not bring her children to the health centre if she believes the surroundings are contaminated with UXOs. A teacher will not go back to school if the courtyard is full of abandoned ammunition”, Ms. Ackermans added.

In order to better protect civilians from the explosive threat, UNICEF-supported partners have held public events over the past five months in schools, markets and workplaces that have raised the awareness of an estimated 27,000 people.

“We are not always with adults”, said 13 year-old Adidiatou after attending a session. “If children don’t know, they may pick up a grenade or another explosive thing as if it was a toy. They may not realize it can hurt. If children don’t participate to these information activities, it’s a pity.”

National and Community based radio stations have also been used to disseminate life-saving messages in five languages, while the agency has also produced posters and other material using Malian artists.

Preliminary field reports for the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) suggest that large quantities of explosive remnants of war (ERW) -- including unexploded and abandoned ammunition such as artillery shells, mortars, rockets, grenades, bullets and aircraft bombs -- have been left behind in the aftermath of air attacks and ground operations. The highest concentration of ERWs is likely to be found in areas where heavy fighting took place such as in Diabaly, Douentza, Konna and Gao.

“It is clear that Mali is impacted by the presence of landmines and explosive ordnance”, said Gareth Edwin Francis, UNMAS Operations Officer. “The United Nations has a duty to address this through the swift deployment of survey and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams in order to ensure safe access for all actors and, importantly, to respond to the needs of the Malian population. As one of several steps to this end, UNMAS is currently planning the imminent deployment of a team to Konna in Central Mali. More will follow.”

In 2013, UNICEF and its partners are planning to step up mine-risk education activities and radio sensitization campaigns, especially in Northern regions in order to raise the awareness of about 400,000 people in conflict affected areas.

03/05/2013 20:31 GMT

PARIS, March 05, 2013 (AFP) - France said Tuesday that dozens of Islamist militants have been killed in the bloodiest phase of the Mali conflict to date, but it remained unclear if key commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar was among them.

Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno on Monday reiterated his belief that Belmokhtar had been killed during fierce fighting in recent days in the Ifoghas mountains on Mali's northeastern border with Algeria.

Deby said his government had only refrained from displaying the body out of respect for Islamic principles.

But French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday it was not clear that Belmokhtar, the mastermind of the January assault on an Algerian gas plant that left 37 foreign hostages dead, had been killed.

"We can't be sure it is him," Le Drian said. "If the Chadian president can bring us proof, so much the better. If it is true, it would be very good news but it would not resolve everything."

An Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) source who on Monday confirmed the death of another prominent militant, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, insisted that Belmokhtar was still alive and fighting.

The confusion was such that France's Paris Match magazine posted a picture it claimed was of Abou Zeid body and the next day Radio France Internationale published the same picture describing it as Belmokhtar's corpse.

But neither was sufficiently clear to establish with any certainty whether the dead man was Abou Zeid, Belmokhtar or someone else.

Abou Zeid and Belmokhtar are of similar age with similar angular features and dark beards specked with grey.

Besides the uncertainty, French officials have also been guarded about the reports for fear that any statement smacking of triumphalism could further endanger French hostages being held in the region.

The families of four French hostages believed to be held in the Ifoghas region have called for a pause in military action to allow for negotiations on their release.

Le Drian said he had reason to believe all 15 French hostages held in various parts of Africa were still alive.

"Suffice to say, if the kidnappers had killed any of them, they would have made it known. We understand the anguish of the families but we are doing everything we can to secure the release of their relatives," he said.

Le Drian said dozens of militants had been killed in recent days, including 15 overnight.

-- Stopping the 'peril' of extremism --

Chad, which has lost 27 of its soldiers in the fighting, put the toll of Islamist fighters slain in the Ifoghas at 70 and has said eight have been taken prisoner.

Chad's Foreign Minister Moussa Faki told AFP Tuesday that the government knew it would suffer losses in the northern Mali operation but deemed the risk necessary to fight the "peril" of Islamist extremists in the region.

"We are in a situation where we need to act to contain the peril where it is. If not, there is the risk that it will spread," he said.

Three French soldiers have been killed since the intervention was launched in January in response to a push south by hundreds of AQIM and other fighters who took control of northern Mali last year.

The French forces met relatively little resistance as the Islamist groups were pushed back from central Mali. Malian officers have said dozens of the rebels were slain during the opening weeks of the campaign but those claims have not been verified.

At the same time ethnic Tuareg separatists in north Mali have accused Malian soldiers of committing atrocities during the conflict and called on the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to launch an investigation.

"Soldiers have engaged in acts of torture, summary executions and forced disappearances" in several areas including Timbuktu and Gao, the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) said in a statement.

French and Chadian troops were now involved in a "pincer movement" against rebels based in the Ametettai valley, the French defence chief said.

Le Drian warned that the high-risk operation in the rugged terrain was likely to go on for some time because of the need to secure neighbouring valleys.

French officials say their operation in the Ifoghas, during which troops have seized more than 50 weapons caches, has already confirmed their worst fears regarding the "industrial" scale of AQIM and its allies' operation in Mali.

bur-am/jmm

05/03/2013 – En 2012, en réponse à la sécheresse dans la région de la Tapoa au Burkina Faso, Action contre la Faim, avec le soutien du département d’aide humanitaire de la Commission européenne ECHO, a mené un programme offrant à la fois une réponse d’urgence aux besoins des ménages les plus pauvres et des pistes pour renforcer leur résilience pour le futur.

Tianyénou, mère de 4 enfants, raconte: « Je suis veuve et sans moyen; je souffre pour prendre en charge mes enfants. »

Le projet soutenu par ECHO et développé par Action Contre la Faim vise en particulier les familles vulnérables, comme celle de Tianyénou, qui risque de se retrouver en situation d’insécurité alimentaire au moindre choc. Le projet combine aide immédiate et aide sur le long terme. Plus de 1.600 ménages ont participé début 2012 à des activités d’aménagement de rizières en échange de transfert monétaire. Ainsi, l’argent distribué a permis aux ménages de couvrir leur besoins alimentaires de base pendant 2 à 4 mois tandis que les travaux entrepris amélioreront les récoltes futures.

« L’argent que j’ai reçu en début d’année m’a permis d’acheter des vivres pour mes quatre enfants. J’ai aussi été formée. Mais ce qui m’a le plus marquée est l’obtention d’une parcelle dans le bas-fond aménagé pour cultiver du riz ; en plus de mes productions habituelles, cette année, je vais produire du riz – qui est déjà même à maturité! » explique Tianyuénou.

En effet, l’un des problèmes majeurs des ménages les plus pauvres au Burkina Faso est l’accès à la terre. Action Contre la Faim a donc négocié avec les propriétaires fonciers un accès pérenne à la terre pour les plus pauvres. Les propriétaires ont accepté de céder une parcelle d’environ 500m2. Grâce à cette parcelle, les 500 ménages les plus pauvres ont pu réaliser en décembre 2012 leur première récolte de riz… et pensent déjà à la suite.

« J’espère récolter 4 sacs de 100kg de riz sur ma parcelle et cela permettra de couvrir mes besoins alimentaires d’au moins 3 mois. Je voudrais dire que je vais continuer à travailler car c’est dans mon intérêt ».

Aujourd’hui, l’enjeu consiste à pérenniser les acquis. Le département d’aide au développement de la Commission européenne a pris le relais dès janvier 2013: un projet d’accompagnement des ménages s’étendra sur 24 mois. Sur l’exemple de l’aménagement des rizières, Action contre la Faim entend également développer, au cours des 2 prochaines années, d’autres activités génératrices de revenus pour les plus pauvres. La construction d’un centre d’étuvage du riz, par exemple, profitera en priorité aux femmes.

D’après un article de Anne Bichard, Action Contre la Faim.

05-03-2013 Point sur les activités

L'instabilité, les violences et les combats au nord du Mali n'incitent pas les personnes déplacées à retourner chez elles. De nouveaux déplacements ont même été observés, et ces groupes viennent s'ajouter à des milliers d'autres, personnes déplacées et familles d'accueil, qui peinent à faire face à leurs besoins essentiels, en eau et nourriture notamment.

« Si les déplacés hésitent toujours à rentrer, c'est essentiellement lié à un sentiment général d'insécurité mais aussi à l’impossibilité pour ces personnes de continuer d'exercer une activité économique dans un contexte aussi instable », explique Jean-Nicolas Marti, chef de la délégation du CICR pour le Mali et le Niger.

Pour les personnes déplacées et les familles résidentes qui les accueillent, les conditions de vie deviennent chaque jour plus difficiles. « Les timides retours constatés début février dans la partie centrale du pays ne se sont pas généralisés. La poursuite des combats invite à la prudence », poursuit Jean-Nicolas Marti.

La situation est particulièrement difficile dans le nord-est du pays, et des familles de Gao, Kidal et Tessalit vont encore chercher refuge loin de leurs villages d’origine.

Soutien à la population touchée par le conflit

Pour répondre aux besoins urgents des personnes déplacées, le CICR et la Croix-Rouge malienne ont distribué122 tonnes de vivres (riz, huile, semoule, sel iodé) à 6 600 personnes à Tin Zaouatène, une localité de la région de Kidal, dans le nord-est du pays, à proximité de la frontière algérienne.

Afin de faciliter l'accès à l'eau potable et améliorer les conditions d'hygiène des déplacés de Tin Zaouatène, des puits et des latrines sont en cours de réhabilitation. Des jerrycans et des pastilles de purification de l'eau leur ont en outre été distribués.

À Korientzé et Sendegué, dans la région centrale de Konna, 3 240 autres personnes déplacées et résidentes ont reçu une assistance en vivres.

Par ailleurs, si les conditions de sécurité le permettent, le CICR et la Croix-Rouge malienne prévoient, dans les prochaines semaines, de distribuer une assistance alimentaire à plus de 290 000 personnes vulnérables, déplacées et résidentes, dans les régions de Mopti, Tombouctou et Gao.

Hôpital de Gao : soins aux blessés

À la suite des récents combats qui ont eu lieu dans la ville de Gao, huit blessés ont été soignés dans l'hôpital soutenu par le CICR. Cette dernière semaine il y a eu au total 313 consultations, 45 hospitalisations et 8 accouchements dans cette structure, dont l'équipe médicale a été renforcée par l'arrivée d'un chirurgien supplémentaire.

Dans les régions de Tombouctou et de Gao, cinq centres de santé communautaire ont été approvisionnés en médicaments qui devraient couvrir les besoins pour les trois mois à venir. Cette action reflète l'attention particulière qui est portée à l'accès aux soins pour la population rurale touchée par le conflit.

Visite aux personnes détenues en raison du conflit

Des délégués du CICR poursuivent leurs visites aux personnes arrêtées et détenues en relation avec le conflit, notamment à Bamako, Mopti, Sévaré, Gao, Tombouctou et Kidal. À l'occasion de ces visites, il a été donné aux détenus la possibilité de rétablir le contact avec leur famille. Dans certains cas, des articles d'hygiène ont également été distribués.

Le CICR poursuit son dialogue avec les parties pour avoir accès à toutes les personnes arrêtées et détenues en lien avec le conflit.

Soutien aux services vétérinaires

« En raison de l’insécurité qui entrave la circulation du personnel et du matériel, l'accès aux troupeaux pour les services vétérinaires est devenu particulièrement difficile », explique Philippe Mbonyingingo, chef de la sous-délégation du CICR à Mopti.

Le CICR continue d'apporter son soutien à la vaccination et au traitement de plus de 1,5 million de têtes de bétail contre la péripneumonie contagieuse bovine, la peste des petits ruminants et la pasteurellose cameline. Cette campagne de vaccination, menée en collaboration avec le ministère de l’Élevage et de la pêche, vise à vacciner le plus grand nombre possible de têtes de bétail dans toutes les régions du nord du Mali.

Diffusion du droit international humanitaire (DIH)

Le CICR poursuit les séances de sensibilisation qu'il organise sur le droit international humanitaire, notamment auprès des forces armées maliennes et des contingents étrangers.

Informations complémentaires :
Valery Mbaoh Nana, CICR Niamey, tél. : +227 97 45 43 82 ou Bamako, tél. : +223 76 99 63 75
Wolde-Gabriel Saugeron, CICR Genève, tél. : +41 22 730 31 49 ou +41 79 244 64 05

05-03-2013 Operational Update

Instability, fighting and other violence in the north of Mali are deterring displaced people from returning to their homes. New displacement is adding to the thousands of people, displaced or hosting the displaced, already struggling to obtain water and food and meet other urgent needs.

"The fact that displaced people are hesitant to go back to their homes is largely attributable to a general sense of not feeling secure, and also to the impossibility of generating income amid such instability," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, the head of the ICRC regional delegation for Mali and Niger.

For displaced people and residents hosting them, living conditions are becoming more difficult every day. "The small number of returnees observed at the beginning of February in the central part of the country have not been followed by others," said Mr Marti. "The ongoing fighting holds people back."

Meanwhile, the particularly difficult situation in the north-east of the country is causing people from Gao, Kidal and Tessalit to seek refuge far from their home villages.

Providing support for people suffering the effects of the conflict

To meet the urgent needs of displaced people, the ICRC and the Mali Red Cross have distributed 122 tonnes of rice, cooking oil, semolina and iodized salt to 6,600 people in Tin Zaouatène, in the Kidal area in the north-east of the country, near the border with Algeria.

Wells and latrines are being upgraded to improve access to clean drinking water and basic hygiene for displaced people in Tin Zaouatène. In addition, jerrycans and water purification tablets have been distributed.

Moreover, food aid has been provided for 3,240 other displaced people and residents in Korientzé and Sendegué, in the central Konna area.

If security conditions permit, the ICRC and the Mali Red Cross will distribute food aid in the coming weeks to more than 290,000 residents and displaced and vulnerable people in the Mopti, Timbuktu and Gao areas.

Treating casualties in Gao Hospital

Following the recent fighting in Gao, eight casualties were provided with medical care in the city's ICRC-supported hospital. Over the past week, 313 people were seen by staff, 45 were admitted as inpatients and eight childbirths took place in the medical facility. Furthermore, the hospital medical staff was bolstered by the arrival of an additional surgeon.

Five community health-care centres in the Timbuktu and Gao areas were supplied with enough medicines to meet needs for the next three months. This action reflects the special attention that is being paid to access to care for people in rural areas suffering the effect of the conflict.

Visiting people detained in connection with the conflict

ICRC delegates are continuing to visit people arrested and held in connection with the conflict, in particular in Bamako, Mopti, Sévaré, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. On these visits, detainees are given the opportunity to contact their families. In some cases, detainees are supplied with hygiene items.

The ICRC is continuing its dialogue with the parties with the aim of obtaining access to all people arrested and held in connection with the conflict.

Providing support for veterinary services

"Because of the lack of security, which restricts the movement of people and goods, veterinary services can reach herds of livestock only with great difficulty," said Philippe Mbonyingingo, the head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Mopti.

The ICRC is maintaining its support for the vaccination and treatment of more than 1.5 million head of livestock against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, small ruminant pest and camel pasteurellosis. The vaccination campaign, which is being conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Stockbreeding and Fisheries, aims to reach as many head of livestock as possible in all parts of northern Mali.

Spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law

The ICRC continues to organize sessions to raise awareness of international humanitarian law, particularly within the Malian armed forces and foreign contingents.

For further information, please contact:
Valery Mbaoh Nana, ICRC Niamey, tel: +227 97 45 43 82 or +223 76 99 63 75
Wolde-Gabriel Saugeron, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 31 49 or +41 79 244 64 05

Dakar (CICR) – Avant leur déploiement au Mali, un contingent de gendarmes sénégalais a participé à Dakar à une séance de sensibilisation aux normes internationales sur l'application du droit et la protection des personnes, organisée par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR).

Dans le cadre du soutien international mis en place, le rôle de la gendarmerie sénégalaise consistera à aider les forces de sécurité maliennes à maintenir l'ordre public dans le respect des principes humanitaires.

« Il est primordial pour le CICR de sensibiliser les membres de ce contingent aux conséquences humanitaires d'un usage excessif de la force », a indiqué Christophe Martin, chef de la délégation régionale du CICR à Dakar.

Cette séance de sensibilisation a été l'occasion d'informer les gendarmes sénégalais des problèmes humanitaires que connaît la population malienne et des différentes activités menées par le CICR en faveur des communautés touchées par le conflit. Elle a aussi permis de rappeler la nécessité pour tous de respecter l'action humanitaire neutre, impartiale et indépendante de l'institution.

Au Mali, le CICR continue de rappeler à toutes les parties au conflit leurs obligations au regard du droit international.

Informations complémentaires : Dénes Benczédi, CICR Dakar, tél. : +221 77 529 71 45 ou +221 33 869 14 40

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Au Mali, l’UNICEF a mis en garde ce mardi 5 mars, contre une menace croissante pour les communautés au centre et au nord du pays. Cette menace est celle que représentent les munitions et les engins explosifs. L'UNICEF précise que depuis avril 2012, 60 victimes des restes explosifs de guerre ont été rapportés, et 53 personnes blessées. Les enfants constituent les deux tiers du total des victimes.

Avec le conflit armé au Mali, les restes explosifs de guerre dans le nord du pays sont abondants, constate aussi l’UNMAS, le Service de l’action antimines des Nations Unies. En outre, la prolifération des armes et la présence de nombreuses installations de stockage de munitions non sécurisées est une préoccupation supplémentaire qui pourrait conduire à un accès non réglementé à l'armement et la prolifération illicite.

Depuis la fin de 2011, le nord du Mali a connu une prolifération des armes lourdes et légères. Il s'agit d'une conséquence directe du conflit en Libye au cours de laquelle les zones de stockage des munitions et des armes ont été laissées sans surveillance, ainsi qu'en raison de l'abandon des camps militaires suite à l'avance des groupes rebelles armés. Par conséquent, les restes explosifs de guerre dans le nord sont abondants et la libre circulation des armes et autres restes explosifs de guerre et des munitions ont également été signalés.

MANGAIZE, Niger , Mar 5 2013 (IPS) - Malian refugees in Mangaïze, northwest Niger, are keen to return home to start work and be able to support themselves once more.

“We do have food and water, even if the food is not varied. Our primary schoolchildren are back in class,” Aissa Hama, a 39-year-old mother of five, told IPS. “But it’s hard to be in exile, dependent on the help of others.”

She is one of thousands of Malians who spilled across the border into neighbouring countries in the months prior to and after the occupation of the country’s north by armed Islamist groups allied with Al-Qaeda back in April 2012. The Islamists held onto the country’s north until February, when a French intervention allowed the Malian army to reclaim the territory.

The Mangaïze camp was officially created in May 2012, following an influx of a large number of Malian families fleeing to Niger, said Idrissa Abou, a member of Niger’s National Commission for Refugees.

In addition to a monthly food ration, refugees have access to drinking water from three small boreholes, and primary health care. There are sanitation facilities with 250 showers and toilets respectively, and a household waste management system.

Refugees also have access to administrative services, a school and, with the opening of a police station, a security service.

“At the moment, there are 1,522 families, which amounts to a population of 6,037 mainly made up of Malian refugees, but there are also Nigerien returnees,” Abou told IPS, adding that an overwhelming majority of the refugees are from Ménaka, the closest Malian town to the Ouallam municipality in southwestern Niger.

He added that the numbers in the camp had increased in February after some 1,700 refugees from the nearby Bani Bangou camp were transferred to Mangaïze.

The transfer meant that Mangaïze camp had to be extended by 11 additional hectares from its original 52, according to Ibrahim Kebé, the local coordinator for Islamic Relief Worldwide and director of the camp.

“But with the continued support of the Niger government and the cooperation of other humanitarian agencies, we will be able to overcome the challenges,” he told IPS.

Access to enough food has been one of those challenges.

According to the latest statistics of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Niamey, the Niger capital, each refugee in Mangaïze receives on average of 1,849 kilocalories (kcal) per day, against the standard 2,100 kcal, and 10.8 litres of water, compared to the recommended 20.

For some, the rations have not been enough.

Aissata Yindou, a 36-year-old mother of four who has been living in the Mangaïze refugee camp since March 2012, told IPS that the food rations needed to be increased.

“We only get a 50-kg bag of rice for the family, and a 0.75-kg can of cooking oil per person. We don’t receive any spices to eat with this food. They have to increase the food ration,” she said.

She added that access to medication was also limited.

“This eye infection is so painful sometimes I can’t sleep. I can’t get it treated because the camp doesn’t have the medication and I don’t have the money to buy it,” said a distressed Yindou.

Hadiza Issaka Abdou, a nurse at the camp’s health centre, told IPS that they were doing their best to treat patients with what medication was available.

“We get many complaints, but we are doing the best we can in terms of on-site medical treatment. We don’t have medicines for every illness. The main diseases here are malaria, diarrhoea and skin diseases,” she said.

But Akiline Agbogoli, the vice president of the Malian Refugee Community at the camp, told IPS that they were being well treated.

“Being away from home, we can’t have everything we need, but in terms of food and basics, we have been well treated,” Agbogoli said.

However, for many here, it is not enough. Saddam Moussa worked as a butcher in Ménaka, in Gao Region, until the Azawad National Liberation Movement, the Malian Tuareg rebel group, captured the town.

“I am tired of doing nothing, waiting for others to take care of me. I want to work and live off the fruits of my labour,” he told IPS.

Mohammed Lamine Aghabass, an office worker at the Ménaka customs office, also wants to return home. “We welcome the military support from Mali’s allies to free our hometowns from the thugs who chased us away. We are in a hurry to get back to our normal lives, but we can’t go back without a go-ahead from the Niger government and the agencies that are helping us,” he told IPS.

According to the UNHCR, there were 53,135 refugees from Mali in Niger in January 2013.

Highlights

 An additional 4 outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) centres were opened in January 2013. UNICEF is currently supporting 450 centers in the Sahel belt of which there are 31 inpatient facilities (IPFs) for treatment of SAM with complications and 419 OTPs for outpatient treatment.

 UNICEF is currently conducted SMART survey in the Sahel Belt Region and Southern Chad; Survey results will be available on March 2013

Adjusting to life in a camp in the Niger is difficult, for Malian refugee children – but school provides a place to learn, play and forge friendships.

By Shushan Mebrahtu

MANGAIZE, Niger, 1 March 2013 – It is the first day of class for Malian refugee children at the primary school in Mangaize camp.

Adjusting to a new life in the camp, which stretches over the Sahara Desert, is not easy, particularly for children who have escaped the violence back home.

But, at this school, they are trying to return to normalcy. They are excited to learn, play and socialize with their friends.

13 February 2013: UNICEF correspondent Chris Niles reports on a UNICEF-supported programme in the Niger ensuring that Malian refugee children are able to continue their education.

School in the camp

Mangaize is one of three official camps among the six sites in the Niger hosting 50,000 Malians, more than 42 per cent of whom are school-age children.

UNICEF and its partner, NGO Plan International, have installed and furnished 11 tent classrooms and provided school supplies. In order to reduce language and culture barriers, new Malian teachers are trained in the Nigerien curriculum and in techniques of providing crash courses to cover missed school time.

The primary school opened five months ago has enrolled 837 students, a number that is increasing as new refugees continue to arrive.

“These children go to school because education is the basis of their future,” says Vice President of the Refugee Committee in Mangaize refugee camp Ag Bonjoly Aklinine.

School in the host community

A Nigerien middle school next to the refugee camp has opened its doors to Malian students living in the camp. UNICEF is helping the school to improve its capacity to welcome and integrate the students. New latrines have been constructed and a hand pump installed to meet the needs of all of the children – Malian refugee and Nigerien host, alike.

Adjusting to a new learning environment is a challenge for the Malian children, who are far from their friends and are trying to fit in to a new setting.

“On the first day at school, I felt I was left out. I did not know anyone; I was struggling to find my way around,” says Falmata Aghali, 14. Falmata and her grandmother fled conflict in Menaka, northern Mali, and are living in Mangaize camp. “My parents are in Bamako,” she continues. When I was alone, I thought about them and used to feel lonely, as I did not have any friends here.”

Falmata, who is in her second year of middle school, is slowly adjusting well, thanks to support from her new teachers and classmates.

“On the second day at school, two girls approached me and introduced themselves. They asked me where I came from, and we started chatting. Ever since then, they have become my close friends.” Falmata looks forward to the day when she will be reunited with her family in Mali. But, for now, she is safe here and “happy to be in school”.

Safe play areas

In addition to education, UNICEF and Plan International are supporting services to help distressed children recover from the trauma they experienced as they escaped the fighting.

There are four child-friendly spaces in the camp, which offer the children a place to play and get psychosocial support to cope with the stress they have experienced. Each day, trained volunteer animators organize activities including dancing, sports, games, drawing and culture awareness sessions.

Protection Officer of Plan International Abou Zeid talks about the benefits of one dancing session: “This imagination activity helps the children to stay connected to their culture even if they have moved far away. It also offers the children an opportunity for entertainment.”

Needs are dire

UNICEF is working with its partners to help Malian children realize their right to education and to their bright future. So far, more than 4,700 refugee children are enrolled in five primary schools in refugee camps and official sites hosting Malian refugees in the Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world. But the needs are dire.

UNICEF and its partners in the Niger need US$3.32 million to respond fully and effectively to the growing humanitarian needs of Malian refugees.

Jamie Dettmer
March 05, 2013

TRIPOLI, LIBYA — Since Moammar Gadhafi was ousted as Libya’s leader over a year ago, Egyptian officials have been intercepting large caches of weapons smuggled from Libya destined for black-market transfer to Syria and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

But in recent weeks the pattern of the arms shipments has shifted, according to officials, and fundamentalist Muslim groups in Egypt, known as Salafis, also are receiving the weapons.

The pattern shift is alarming Egyptian officials, who estimate they are seizing only a fraction of the weaponry - including shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles - flowing across the border from Libya.

In late February, Egyptian authorities announced they had intercepted two pickup trucks carrying 60 anti-tank missiles smuggled in from Libya.

Arms to Egyptian groups

The trucks, which were loaded in Mursa Matruh, 430 kilometers northwest of the Egyptian capital on the Mediterranean Coast, were heading to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula. But officials now think that not all the missiles were earmarked for transfer to Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

“Not all the weaponry flowing into Libya is going to the Gaza,” a European diplomat told VOA on the condition of anonymity. “The Egyptians are becoming alarmed that weapons are now being stockpiled by Egyptian Salafi groups. They are starting to uncover arms trafficked from Libya in the [Nile] Delta and believe other weapons are being stored in Sinai. It is making them very nervous.”

Weapons stockpiles

The reports of weapons stockpiling by militant Salafi groups is coming at a time of increased tension between Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Salafist political parties.

This past week, representatives of the Salafist Nour Party unleashed a scathing critique of President Morsi and the governing Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Other Islamists groups spurned by Morsi also joined in the attack, blaming him for Egypt’s worsening political crisis and warned that Egypt will remain on edge until a national unity government is appointed.

They accuse the government of using repressive tactics similar to those used by ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Adding to Morsi’s mounting woes, he also is being severely criticized by militant Islamists, including elements of al-Qaida. Late last month, Abu Mus’ab, a former adviser to the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, told an Arab broadcaster that Morsi’s government was, “evil.” “This regime must fall and an Islamic state be established,” he said.

Abdel-Fattah Othman, Egypt’s deputy interior minister for public security, warns that the proliferation of illegal weapons is making what is an already tense situation even worse.

“Weapons coming from neighboring countries are contributing to the chaos,” Othman said. “In Port Said, for example, we faced armed groups using rockets and grenades in an attempt to storm the city’s prison complex.”

Since the end of January, more than 60 people have died in such clashes, three of them policemen.

With militant groups in Egypt stockpiling more weapons, the fear is that unrest could lead to greater violence.

Libyan weapons in Mali

Arms trafficking from Libya contributed to the destabilization of northern Mali, where huge inflows of weapons plundered from Gadhafi’s arsenals helped Tuareg mercenaries and jihadist fighters to carve out their own enclave in the heart of the sub-Sahara.

Last November, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an al-Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM) leader who masterminded the seizure of an Algerian natural gas plant in January, bragged about how easy it had been to obtain Libyan weapons. Belmokhtar, later reported killed by pro-government forces in Mali, said his group got the weapons through channels from Gadhafi’s arsenals during the eight-month-long uprising that ousted the late Libyan leader.

The weapons intercepted in Egypt have included everything needed to start a small war - surface-to-air missiles, rockets, anti-aircraft guns, automatic rifles, RPG7 rocket launchers and huge amounts of ammunition.

Libyan rockets hit Israel

Experts in the region noted that many of the rockets fired into Israel from Gaza late last year were Grad rockets obtained from Libyan sources. The Egyptian security services say they have seized consignments that included Grad rockets. One of the biggest seizures came last November when Egyptian authorities intercepted a shipment of 108 Grad warheads on the docks at Mursa Matruh.

Egyptian President Morsi has vowed to crack down on the arms trafficking. And on February 3, Egyptian authorities began flooding the tunnels used for smuggling weapons and commercial goods between Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai.

According to U.S. intelligence sources, contacts have increased in recent months between Al Qaeda-linked Jihadists and more localized Salafist groups in Sinai and the Egyptian Delta region.

Paul Sullivan, of the Washington D.C.-based National Defense University, says that continued instability in Egypt bodes ill for long-term security. “The more poor and hopeless young people there are the easier it is for militants to recruit, pay and train them.”

Japon – La Diète du Japon a approuvé le budget supplémentaire du pays pour l’exercice 2012, qui prévoit une allocation de 43,5 millions de dollars E.-U. pour les opérations humanitaires de l’OIM destinées aux migrants vulnérables, aux personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays, aux migrants de retour et aux communautés d’accueil du monde entier.

Ces fonds visent à répondre à des besoins non satisfaits ou imprévus durant l’exercice. Il s’agit de la plus grande somme que l’OIM ait reçue de ce mécanisme de financement japonais jusqu’à présent.

Cet argent financera des projets de l’OIM en Afghanistan et en Iran, en Angola et dans les pays voisins, en République démocratique du Congo, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Libéria, au Ghana, au Mali, en Mauritanie, au Niger, au Rwanda, en Somalie, au Soudan du Sud, au Soudan et dans les pays voisins de la Syrie.

Il permettra d’apporter une assistance humanitaire d’urgence à des personnes touchées par des crises migratoires, de faciliter le retour et la réintégration de migrants vulnérables, de renforcer la capacité des gouvernements à gérer des flux migratoires de plus en plus complexes, et d’améliorer les mécanismes d’adaptation des communautés abritant ou accueillant des populations déplacées.

En Somalie, qui recevra environ 23 % du montant total, ces fonds serviront à sauver des vies en fournissant des services d’accès à l’eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène, à promouvoir la création d’emplois et la génération de revenus par des activités de subsistance locales, et à renforcer les capacités des organismes publics légalement tenus de répondre aux besoins des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays.

Une mobilité de la population largement non régulée, conjuguée à une gouvernance faible en Somalie a rendu les frontières poreuses, faisant le lit de la criminalité transnationale - piraterie, traite des êtres humains, trafic illicite de migrants, trafic d’armes et terrorisme.

Le financement des opérations de l’OIM en Afghanistan, qui représentera 21 % de la somme totale et couvrira également l’Iran, permettra de poursuivre les activités de réintégration et de subsistance à l’intention de migrants de retour d’Iran et du Pakistan, de personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur pays et de victimes de la traite d’êtres humains.

Ces fonds aideront également le Gouvernement afghan et des ONG nationales à élaborer un mécanisme national d’orientation afin d’identifier et de protéger les victimes de la traite des êtres humains. Ils permettront en outre de contribuer au retour et à la réintégration de migrants afghans hautement qualifiés venant d’Iran.

Environ 9,7 % de l’enveloppe sera utilisé en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) pour atténuer deux crises humanitaires liées à la migration forcée. L’un des projets consistera à apporter une aide directe à des migrants vulnérables de retour d’Angola qui ont impérativement besoin d’une assistance humanitaire. L’autre projet aidera des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays dans l’est de la RDC par la mise en place de mécanismes d’alerte en cas d’urgence et de conflit et le renforcement des interventions d’urgence du Gouvernement.

Quelque 3,8 millions de dollars E.-U. seront également utilisés pour soutenir des projets de l’OIM au Mali, au Niger et en Mauritanie, trois pays qui subissent les conséquences de conflits, de la sécheresse, de la pénurie alimentaire et du retour de dizaines de milliers de travailleurs migrants de Libye.

Cet argent permettra de fournir des ressources en eau qui combleront les besoins urgents à court terme de personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur pays, de stabiliser la situation économique et la sécurité dans les zones durement touchées par le retour des migrants de Libye, de réintégrer des migrants de retour, de stabiliser les communautés par des mesures axées sur les jeunes, et d’intervenir pour améliorer la sécurité alimentaire.

Deux autres millions de dollars E-U. permettront de sauver des vies et d’améliorer les conditions de de vie quelque 93 000 réfugiés et migrants en Turquie, en Jordanie, au Liban et en Iraq, voisins de la Libye.

« Cette contribution du Japon aux opérations de l’OIM à hauteur de 43,5 millions de dollars E.-U. est l’allocation la plus importante octroyée à ce jour par ce mécanisme de financement. Elle témoigne d’un partenariat solide et croissant entre le Japon et l’OIM en ce qui concerne les activités d’aide humanitaire et de consolidation de la paix à l’échelle mondiale», a déclaré le Directeur général de l’OIM, William Lacy Swing.

L’annonce de ce financement suit de près la cinquième visite officielle de M. Swing au Japon, durant laquelle il a rencontré des hauts fonctionnaires des Ministères des affaires étrangères, de la justice, de l’éducation, de la culture, des sports et de la science et des technologies. Il a, en outre, prononcé un discours liminaire lors d’un atelier international sur l’intégration des migrants organisé par le Ministère des affaires étrangères, la ville d’Ota et le Conseil des autorités locales pour les relations internationales.

Pour plus d’informations, prière de contacter

Yuko Goto
à l’OIM Tokyo
Tél : + 81 3 3595-0108
courriel : iomtokyo@iom.int

FAO, EU and Government of Malawi discuss way forward

06 March 2013, Lilongwe – Crop diversification, increasing the productivity and production of farmers through small-scale irrigation projects, improving local market systems, and other actions being implemented by the government could give a strong push to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition in Malawi, Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today, following a high-level discussion with President Joyce Banda of Malawi and EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs.

“It was interesting to hear about government programs to support small-scale livestock production and crop diversification,” Graziano da Silva said.

“FAO is ready to increase its assistance to develop agriculture, improve food security and increase the income of poor families in Malawi. Linking agriculture to social protection and empowering gender are ways to consolidate and build on the gains so far,” added the FAO Director-General.

He also noted the importance of involving the private sector and civil society organizations in the fight against hunger and malnutrition and building the government’s capacity.

Graziano da Silva and Piebalgs are leading an EU-FAO joint mission to Malawi to discuss with the Government ways to support increasing food security and sustainable agricultural production in the country.

At the meeting, President Banda highlighted the presidential initiative to diversify and improve local production and nutrition that was launched two weeks ago. She added that small-scale irrigation projects and marketing assistance to absorb the increased production by farmers could encourage Malawian farmers to produce even more.

EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs noted the importance of addressing agriculture, food security and malnutrition together in a coherent and coordinated manner.

FAO, the EU and the Government of Malawi also agreed that sustainable land use and the rights that go with it should be part of the rural development work being done. This effort will be supported by the national implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, which were endorsed in May 2012 by the Committee on World Food Security.

Learning from programmes that work

According to the FAO Director-General, Malawi has made important progress against hunger: “It is on track to meet the first Millennium Development Goal and can realistically set even higher targets.”

However, he recalled that the country still faces many challenges and that many of them are immediate.

“As President Banda pointed out, late rains in the current agricultural season put additional pressure on food security especially in the southern region,” he said.

Banda, Graziano da Silva and Piebalgs also discussed how Malawi could benefit from the experiences of and lessons learned from other countries in tackling hunger and malnutrition, such as the Brazilian Zero Hunger Strategy. President Banda welcomed the proposal and also gave her support to the partnership between FAO, the African Union and Instituto Lula to intensify efforts to end hunger in Africa.

Graziano da Silva and the EU Commissioner are also visiting several EU and FAO projects during their stay in Malawi. In Chingonthi, for example, FAO supports a community grain storage project that aims to reduce post-harvest losses of maize by improving storage facilities and marketing.

The communities will receive further support and training to ultimately become cooperatives, so that they can scale up their farming activities with better market integration.

[2013/25/en]

Contact
Liliane Kambirigi
Media Relations, Radio Unit
(+39) 348 252 3763
liliane.kambirigi@fao.org

Edward Ogolla (Lilongwe)
(+265) 997405164
Edward.Ogolla@fao.org

Dans un pays où la malnutrition est un véritable fléau, Terre des hommes a décidé de cibler son action auprès des familles où au moins l’un des enfants est malnutri. Ancien coordinateur de terrain dans la Banda de Gaza (territoires palestiniens occupés), Paolo Pennati est arrivé au Mali en septembre 2012. Depuis la capitale Bamako, le nouveau délégué revient pour nous sur la situation au Mali, les conditions de vie des déplacés internes, ainsi que sur le programme d’aide humanitaire mis en œuvre par les équipes de Tdh et qui appuiera les centres de santé au cours des 12 prochains mois.

Quelles principales raisons vois-tu à l’intervention de Terre des hommes au Mali ? Pourquoi les enfants y sont-ils plus vulnérables qu’ailleurs ?

Il y a moins de trois ans encore, le Mali était une référence régionale au sein de la communauté internationale pour son parcours de développement. Depuis l’année dernière, le pays a connu de graves troubles politiques internes à l’image du Coup d’Etat en Mars 2012 et de la guerre qui a divisé le pays en deux et provoqué l’instabilité. De plus, historiquement et bien avant les récents évènements, le Mali a connu plusieurs conflits entre les populations du nord et du sud du pays. Depuis la chute de Kadhafi, plusieurs mercenaires, formés et équipés en Libye, sont rentrés dans le nord du Mali faisant resurgir les oppositions. Aujourd’hui, le nord est entre les mains de trois groupes armés islamistes AQMI, MUJAO, Ansar Dine alors que le sud est sous contrôle des autorités intérimaires de Bamako. Compte tenu des conséquences directes de la guerre, l’aide bilatérale s’en est fortement ressentie. Enfin, le climat joue un très grand rôle dans la vulnérabilité des familles. A l’image de toute la région du Sahel, le Mali a connu de terribles sécheresses en 2010 et 2011. Malgré une année 2012 plutôt bonne en terme de récoltes, le phénomène de malnutrition reste extrêmement alarmant. Ces éléments mis en commun ont créé un « cocktail explosif » où ce sont les faibles, surtout les enfants et les femmes enceintes et allaitantes, qui en paient le prix. Même si certaines organisations ont déployé des projets de développement au Mali depuis de nombreuses années, aujourd’hui, il faut répondre à l’urgence, tout en gardant à l’esprit la nécessité d’amener des réponses adaptées à long terme. Dans l’immédiat, nous nous activons au quotidien pour soutenir les centres sanitaires déjà en place.

Quelles conséquences les conflits au nord du Mali ont-ils sur les interventions de Tdh dans la région de Ségou, notamment en terme d’afflux de population?

Contrairement aux camps de réfugiés maliens en Mauritanie et au Burkina Faso, il n’existe pas de camps de déplacées au Mali. A Ségou, par exemple, nous ne rencontrons que des déplacés internes. Au niveau du pays, l’OCHA (Bureau de la coordination des affaires humanitaires des Nations Unies) estime le nombre de déplacés internes à 227’206 personnes au 31 décembre 2012 et dénombre 14'242 nouveaux cas pour le mois de janvier 2013. Il faut rappeler que le Mali n’a jamais véritablement connu de conflits armés internes et les populations découvrent les conséquences d’une guerre. Depuis le début de l’intervention militaire française en début d’année, seules les personnes les plus « aisées » disposent de moyens pour se déplacer vers le sud ou pour reprendre la route du nord. En ces temps difficiles, nous voyons pourtant une grande solidarité se développer entre les Maliens. l’Etat a mis sur pied un système de familles d’accueil pour les déplacés du nord. Depuis le début des conflits, beaucoup de familles n’hésitent pas à héberger et entretenir les plus vulnérables. Malheureusement, personne ne sait comment la situation va évoluer et cette entraide peut au bout de quelques mois amener à de grosses tensions entre les familles. Au final, comme souvent, ce sont les enfants qui en souffrent le plus.

Quelles mesures peuvent être prises par Tdh pour tenter d’endiguer la malnutrition au Mali ?

Nous ne cherchons pas à remplacer les activités mises en place par l’Etat, mais plutôt à appuyer et réactiver les services de santé maliens. Concrètement, des centres existent pour les enfants atteints de malnutrition aigüe, mais les ressources financières et matérielles manquent, ne permettant pas de traiter les nombreux cas de malnutrition. En plus, si l’enfant et son entourage n’habitent pas à proximité du centre, ils n’ont tout simplement pas de quoi s’offrir le transport. Si malgré le coût, ils arrivent tout de même à se rendre dans le centre, le traitement est censé durer environ 10 jours et le simple fait de devoir payer un repas chaque jour pour l’accompagnant constitue une somme bien trop importante. Pour soulager les familles, Tdh appuiera les centres de santé au niveau technique, en prenant en charge les coûts de transport et les frais pour la nourriture des accompagnants. Nous devons continuer de soutenir les familles pour qu’elles n’abandonnent pas un traitement indispensable pour leurs enfants.

In a country where malnutrition is a terrible scourge, Terre des hommes has taken the decision to target its work on families where at least one of the children suffers from malnutrition. Former field coordinator in the Gaza Strip (Palestinian Occupied Territories), Paolo Pennati arrived in Mali in September 2012. From the capital, Bamako, the new delegate goes over the situation in Mali, the living conditions of the internally displaced people, as well as the programme of humanitarian aid set up by the Tdh teams that will back up the health centres during the coming twelve months.

What do you see as the main reasons for the intervention of Terre des hommes in Mali? Why are the children there more vulnerable than elsewhere?

Less than three years ago, Mali was a regional example within the international community for its path towards development. However, since last year the country has experienced serious domestic political trouble such as the coup d’état in March 2012 and the war that has divided the country in two and triggered off instability. Moreover, historically and long before the recent events, Mali knew many conflicts between the people of the North and the South. Since the downfall of Gadaffi, a number of mercenaries, trained and equipped in Libya, have gone to the North of Mali and this has caused a resurgence of opposition. Today, the North is in the hands of three groups of armed Islamists, AQMI, MUJAO and Ansar Dine, whereas the South is under the control of the interim authorities of Bamako. Taking the direct consequences of the war into account, bilateral aid is greatly resented. Finally, the climate plays a very important role in the vulnerability of families. Just like the whole Sahel region, Mali experienced terrible droughts in 2010 and 2011.

Despite the year 2012 being reasonable in terms of harvest, the phenomenon of malnutrition remains extremely alarming. Together, these elements have created an ‘explosive cocktail’ where the weak, especially the children and expectant and nursing mothers, have to pay the price. Even though some organizations have been deploying projects for development in Mali for a number of years, today it is necessary to come up with emergency relief, whilst keeping in mind the need for introducing responses adapted to the long-term. In the immediate future, we shall be very busy giving help to the health centres already established.

What consequences do the conflicts in the North of Mali have on the intervention of Tdh in the region of Segou, particularly in terms of the population increase?

In contrast to the camps of refugees from Mali in Mauritania and in Burkina Faso, there are no camps for the displaced in Mali itself. In Segou, for example, we meet only internally displaced people. At a national level, the OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) estimated the number of internally displaced people at 227,206 on 31 December 2012, and counted 14,242 new cases in January 2013. It must be remembered that Mali has never really known internal armed conflicts, and the people are only now discovering the consequences of civil war. Since the start of the French military intervention at the beginning of this year, only the wealthiest have had the means to move to the South or take the route northwards. In these difficult times, however, we do see great solidarity developing between the Malians, and the State has set up a system of host families for the people displaced from the North. Since hostilities began, numerous families have not hesitated to provide accommodation for and to look after other vulnerable people. Unfortunately, nobody knows how the situation will develop and this mutual aid could, after several months, lead to considerable tension between the families. In the end, as so often, it is the children who suffer most.

What measures can be taken by Tdh to try to curb malnutrition in Mali?

We are not attempting to replace the activities set up by the State, but rather to support and reactivate the Mali health services. In practical terms, there are already centres for children suffering from acute malnutrition, but they lack financial and material resources, hindering them from treating many cases of malnutrition. In addition, if a child and its family do not live close to the centre, they just do not have anything in the way of transport. If, despite the cost, they do still manage to arrive at the centre, the treatment is supposed to last for about ten days and the simple fact of having to pay for each day’s meals for the person accompanying the child is too great. To help the families, Tdh will be supporting the health centres at a technical level, by taking over the cost of transport and the cost for the food of the family member there. We have to continue supporting the families so that they do not give up this indispensible treatment for their children.