LILONGWE – The Government of Ireland has announced a contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) of more than US$1.3 million (MWK .5 billion) to boost food and nutrition security among some of the poorest households in Malawi.

Ireland’s support comes at a time of a worsening food crisis in Malawi. The full extent of the need has recently been confirmed by an updated report from the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) that found over 1.85 million people will need food assistance between now and March 2014. This is a 27 percent increase from an earlier estimate of 1.46 million people. An additional three districts now require assistance, bringing the total to 24 out of the 28 districts nationwide in need of support.

Ireland’s contribution will help fund food assistance for up to 250,000 people for one month during the ‘lean season’ between now and March when the next harvest is due.

“The Government of Ireland has been monitoring the humanitarian situation, and, recognising the increased need, provides this additional support to the government’s planned MVAC response,” says Irish Ambassador Liz Higgins. “This support is consistent with our focus on addressing the Malawi food security challenge and follows an earlier contribution of the same amount to restock the strategic grain reserve.”

WFP and its partners are scaling up their operations to assist the majority of the vulnerable people in 24 out of 28 districts nationwide through food distributions and cash transfers.

WFP’s efforts will also contribute to resilience-building through interventions that meet immediate food needs while strengthening the ability of vulnerable people to manage risks and withstand the adverse effects of drought and other shocks.

Ireland has also recently contributed US$275,000 to ensure that WFP food assistance is provided for 18,000 refugees in Malawi for up to 2 to 4 months, depending on the commodity type.

Refugees have no access to arable land or any tangible means of earning a living, rendering them heavily dependent on food and other assistance delivered by WFP and partners – who are in turn supported by donor partners.

At the beginning of November, WFP was forced to reduce food rations for refugees in Dzaleka refugee camp due to a lack of resources.

“We appreciate the support from the Irish Government to our relief and refugee operations in Malawi,” said WFP Representative Coco Ushiyama. “Their contributions are vital for families whose harvests were meagre and also to refugees. We have experienced a drop in funding for long-standing refugee operations such as this one in Malawi.”

As part of its Purchase for Progress initiative, WFP will use the Irish funds to buy food, where possible, from local smallholder farmers who have not been affected by crop failure – and who will therefore have an opportunity to connect with markets and to boost their incomes.

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For more information please contact: Rachael Wilson, Reports Officer, WFP Malawi, Email: rachael.wilson@wfp.org, Tel. +265 1 774 666 Aidan Fitzpatrick, Head of Development, Embassy of Ireland, E-mail: Aidan.Fitzpatrick@dfa.ie, Tel. + 265 088 821 5600

About the World Food Programme: WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Last year, WFP reached more than 97 million people in 80 countries with food assistance.

For more information about WFP in Malawi: http://www.wfp.org/countries/malawi

Appeal history:

· Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 254,242 was initially allocated from the Federation’s DREF to support the National Society to respond to the needs of affected population in terms of emergency latrines, water treatment, training of volunteers and sensitization campaigns on hygiene promotion.

· Emergency Appeal was launched on 26 June 2013 for CHF 1,489,072.

· Operations update 1 was published on July 31, 2013.

· Operations Update 2 was published on August 5, 2013.

· This revised Emergency Appeal reduces the operational budget from CHF 1,489,092 to CHF 880,216 and extends the timeframe by one additional month until end of January 2014.

Summary: The conflict in Darfur, Sudan resulted in displacement of population into the Sila region of Chad in March 2013. This situation has affected a significant number of people (refugees as well as returnees). According to the last registration carried out by the UNHCR, there were 20,339 refugees sheltered in the Abgadam camp in the Sila region. If the conflict resumes at the end of the rainy season, predictions are an additional 20,000 refugees could cross into Chad in 2014.

The Red Cross of Chad deployed its volunteers from the early hours of the crisis to welcome and shelter the refugees in official sites proposed by the local authorities in Abgadam. The Red Cross of Chad collaborated with UNHCR and provided vehicles to transport refugees and returnees into more secure locations. Volunteers also supported UNHCR in the distribution of food and non-food items and in the pre-registration process.

The funds released from the DREF allocation enabled the provision of tarpaulins, buckets, sleeping mats, and soaps for 1,280 families and construction of 300 emergency latrines. To support the operation, 31 volunteers were trained to provide support and three Regional Disaster Response Team members were deployed.

The DREF operation was immediately followed by a six month emergency appeal to support 3,000 families through the distribution of tarpaulins, wood and construction tools, build community latrines in the camp and distribute non-food items such as plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets and loincloths for refugees in the camp of Abgadam.

Despite early response from donors to support the affected victims, logistical challenges hampered the implementation of planned activities in the field. The operational area is located near the border with Sudan, which is isolated during the rainy season between the month of June and September. The only means to access the area was through a helicopter made available by the UNHCR but with limited transportation capacities. Non-food items procured at national and local level are currently stored in the town of Abeche, in a buffer warehouse, pending their dispatching in the field. A logistics ERU member from the British Red Cross and an RDRT member were deployed to support the National Society in the procurement, transportation and warehousing process.

The National Society has a bilateral agreement with UNHCR for service provision of distribution of food and non-food items, shelter materials, water and sanitation activities and warehousing. An RDRT watsan member was deployed by the IFRC and supported volunteers in the field through training and coaching. Based on field monitoring and evaluation reports, conditions of affected persons have improved but gaps remain in different fields such as water provision, sanitation, shelter and non-food items.

The current emergency appeal includes activities which are not possible to implement due to the current coverage. Therefore, this revised emergency appeal will refocus on the priority emergency activities based on available funds in the following areas: shelter (distribution of tarpaulins and tools) water (distribution of aqua tabs and hygiene promotion), sanitation (distribution of jerry cans), health (distribution of mosquito nets and health promotion). The revised emergency appeal aims to provide humanitarian assistance to 3,000 households located in the camp of Abgadam in the Sila region.

In order to finish activities within the operational timeframe, this Revised Emergency Appeal extends the operational timeframe by one month. The operation will therefore be completed by 31 January 2014. A final report will be made available by 30 April 2014.

The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2014/01000

AMOUNT: EUR 7 500 000

1. CONTEXT

Nigeria is the most populated country of Africa with a population estimated around 170 million people, i.e. approximately one sixth of the whole African population. Nigeria is classified as a mixed economy emerging market, and has already reached lower middle income status according to the World Bank. It has an abundant supply of natural resources, well-developed financial, legal, communication, transport sectors and a stock exchange, which is the second largest in Africa. Despite a booming economy, Nigeria presents growing inequalities and a large part of the population doesn’t have access to essential services. Considering the deterioration of the situation in the past years, the humanitarian situation in Nigeria is of serious concern.

Il est 11 h du matin et la chaleur est de plus en plus forte. Je me trouve à l´ intérieur d´un véhicule de la Commission Européenne avec l´experte régionale communication et une journaliste de RFI qui nous accompagne. Deux voitures UNICEF et Croix Rouge Française nous suivent pour la visite de plusieurs sites dans le cadre du programme d´appui à la région médicale de Diourbel dans le dépistage et la prise en charge de la Malnutrition Aigüe chez l´enfant. Afin de répondre à la crise nutritionnelle qui a frappé la région en 2012, la Croix-Rouge a développé, grâce au financement du département d´Aide Humanitaire et Protection Civile de la Commission (ECHO), un programme de prise en charge de la malnutrition aigüe sévère. Une deuxième phase du projet est en cours actuellement, cofinancée par UNICEF et couvrant l´ensemble des structures de santé de la région.

Nous nous trouvons à un peu plus de 150 km de Dakar et pourtant nous avons fait plus de quatre heures en voiture. Mais les routes ne sont pas toujours en bon état et nous avons été bercés par les aléas des embouteillages et les arrêts permanents des cars rapides (petits bus colorés bleus et jaunes typiques du Sénégal). Finalement nous arrivons au centre à l´Hôpital Ndamatou dans la ville de Touba. Nous sommes à l´heure pour le rendez-vous avec le Directeur de l´Hôpital Ndamatou. Mr. Moustapha Sourang et là et nous reçoit dans son bureau avec un grand sourire. Il est satisfait du programme.

La région de Diourbel est la deuxième région la plus peuplée après Dakar et les indicateurs liés à la malnutrition aigüe globale sont alarmants, mais la prise en charge à l´hôpital se passe bien. L ´hôpital héberge l´un des 5 CREN (centres d´éducation nutritionnelle) que la Croix Rouge a mis en place. Le centre accueille les enfants malnutris avec complication médicale. Les patients y sont admis pour une durée d´une quinzaine de jours afin de prendre en charge leur malnutrition ainsi que leurs autres pathologies.

La gratuité des soins est assurée dans ce projet par la Croix-Rouge grâce au financement d´ ECHO et UNICEF. Cependant, le relais devrait être pris dans le futur par le gouvernement du Sénégal qui vient de mettre en place une politique de gratuité qui pourrait assurer la continuité du projet. “Nous n´aimons pas appelé ce programme “gratuité des soins” car ici les gens pensent que ce qui est gratuit n´est pas toujours bon. Nous préférons parler de la “prise en charge gouvernementale” pour faire comprendre aux populations qu´il y a une vraie valeur dans les médicaments administrés et que quelqu´un paye effectivement pour assurer leur qualité”, assure Mr. Sourang.

A l´unité de CREN, nous trouvons 5 mamans avec leurs petits. Je m´approche d´une des mamans et lui demande pourquoi son fils de 1 ans est là. Le petit souffre de malnutrition car la maman a eu un bébé très suivi après lui et a dû arrêter l´allaitement avec l´un pour pouvoir alimenter l´autre. Le petit Moustafa regarde les yeux semi-fermés dans le vide. Le docteur espère que dans une semaine, grâce au traitement reçu, il puisse reprendre une vie normale. Le cas de Moustafa n´est qu´un entre des centaines de cas au Sénégal et dans l´ensemble de la région du Sahel.

Esther Huerta García
Desk responsable communication pour Afrique de l´Ouest

HIGHLIGHTS

• TDRP programmatic extension obtained

• AU seminar on Children Affected by Armed Conflict and UNSCR 1325 convened

• Final evaluation of the empowerment of social-economic associations pilot project conducted

• South Sudan Reintegration Pilot Project entered the reintegration phase

• Official premiere of the documentary Scoring for Peace held

• TDRP Facebook page and Scoring for Peace website created

This month’s update highlights children and armed conflict concerns and provides recommendations for the protection of children in the situations of Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali / Sahel Region, Somalia, and the Philippines. It includes recommendations in particular for adequate child protection capacity when supporting the AU International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), as a response to the urgent protection needs.

Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is a network of local, national and international non-governmental organizations striving to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. Monthly updates are based on the experience of Watchlist and its member organizations in specific country situations and Watchlist’s expertise in over a decade of engagement with the Security Council’s children and armed conflict agenda.

Vienna, Austria, December 11, 2013. Meeting in its 145th Session, the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved financing over US$403m to boost socio-economic development in over 35 partner countries. Of the new commitments some US$306.04m went to support 14 public sector loans and seven grants. The bulk of the public sector funding will co-finance transportation, education, energy, poverty reduction, and water supply and sanitation projects. Under OFID’s private sector and trade finance programs, eight projects totalling US$97m were approved. These will help strengthen the industry sectors of various countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The approved public sector loans are as follows:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Corridor Vc Motorway. Subsection Klopče-Donja Gračanica. To construct a 6.3 km motorway, which will directly benefit some 143,000 people and facilitate local and regional trade in support of the country’s economic development. OFID’s contribution, consisting of two loans of US$48m and EUR24m (approx. US$34.20m), totals around US$82.20m.

US$m 82.20

Côte d’Ivoire

Upgrading and Expansion of Abidjan International Airport Freight Terminal. To rehabilitate and expand the freight terminal of the airport with a view to raising service quality and improving safety and security. The project will also create new employment opportunities during and after the construction phase.

US$m 6.64

Djibouti

Tadjoura Port. To construct a new port in Tadjoura in the northern region, one of Djibouti’s poorest. Around 200,000 people will benefit from the project.

US$m 7.00

The Gambia

Basic and Secondary Education Schools. To enhance the quality of education by constructing three libraries, numerous laboratories and sanitation facilities and constructing/rehabilitating and furnishing some 220 classrooms, each accommodating around 45 pupils.

US$m 5.00

Honduras

Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in the South-Western Border Region (“PRO-LENCA”). To improve income, employment opportunities, food security and general living conditions for over 45,000 poor rural families with a focus on social inclusion, gender and youth development.

US$m 14.50

India

India Sustainable Renewable Energy Development Program. To support the Government of India in developing cornerstone projects as well as institutional reforms in the renewable energy sector. The creation of renewable energy generation infrastructure will positively impact around 55,000 households.

US$m 50.00

Kenya

Rongai Hospital. To construct and equip a new hospital and residential staff building in Rongai city. On completion, the project will improve the quality and accessibility of affordable healthcare services for some 150,000 people.

US$m 5.00

Niger

Emergency Food Security and Rural Development Program. To improve food security in Niger, with particular focus on the Maradi, Tahoua and Tillaberi regions, home to some 50 percent of the total population, including poor farming and herding families who have been highly-exposed to recurrent food and livestock crises.

US$m 6.00

Panama

Panama Bay and City Sanitation (Phase II). To improve sanitation conditions in the Panama Bay and City area and increase access to sanitation services in urban settlements discharging into the Rio Abajo, Matasnillo and Curundu streams, directly benefiting some 13,000 households.

US$m 52.00

Rwanda

Huye-Kitabi Road Rehabilitation. To rehabilitate and upgrade a 53 km road linking the capital, Kigali, to the West and South of the country. Nearly two million people will benefit from the improved road safety, reduced transportation costs and substantial time savings.

US$m 12.00

Senegal

Community Roads. To rehabilitate 875 km and maintain 5,000 km of rural roads. The project will improve the accessibility of some 187 remote rural communities, create 2,000 jobs and provide training to approximately 3,700 rural dwellers.

US$m 10.00

Seychelles

Sewerage Infrastructure. To construct a new sewerage treatment plant, construct/rehabilitate six pumping stations, install sewerage pipelines, and rehabilitate existing networks in three of the most populated towns on Mahe, Seychelles’ largest island and home to some 14,000 people.

US$m 10.00

Tanzania

Third Poverty Reduction. To support rural households in obtaining access to enhanced socio-economic services and income generation activities. The project will lift some 2.1 million people out of poverty.

US$m 16.35

Yemen

Social Fund for Development (Phase IV). To enhance the potential of the poor and vulnerable to generate income through increased access to economic infrastructure, social services and credit.

US$m 25.00

Total

US$m 301.69

Seven grants totaling US$4.35m were also approved in support of the following projects/programs:

World Health Organization. US$600,000. To improve access to medical devices for cancer care in six countries in Africa and Asia that have a high cancer burden and low availability of medical equipment and services.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor. US$400,000. To increase access to improved water services for over 56,000 low-income inhabitants of the towns of Mukuru Sinai and Korogocho in Kenya.

International AIDS Society (IAS). US$350,000. To support the attendance of young scientists from developing countries at the 20th International AIDS Conference. A portion of the grant will also be used for a joint OFID/IAS workshop at OFID Headquarters, which will gather experts from OFID Member Countries and others to discuss “HIV in Conservative Majority Settings”.

Mahmoud Abbas Foundation. US$500,000. To enable 70 high-achieving students among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to enroll in Lebanese universities over the course of four academic years.

United Nations Development Program/Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People. US$800,000. To renovate and/ or expand maternal health facilities in the Gaza Strip. This will enable women from different parts of the Gaza Strip to access improved maternal health services.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). US$700,000. To improve energy efficiency through the development of a solar water heaters’ market in Yemen, including manufacturing and assembly to stimulate economic development.

Shell Foundation. US$1m. To improve access to efficient cooking stoves in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa and seven countries in Latin America and to manufacture these in the latter region, improving employment opportunities.

In addition to the public sector projects and grants approved at the meeting, three financing facilities totaling US$35m were approved through OFID’s private sector lending window. Two of these will help strengthen the key sectors of Micro Finance, SMEs and agribusiness in Azerbaijan and Kenya, while the third will support a regional financial institution in expanding its lending to SMEs in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania for their industrial and commercial operations.

Under OFID’s trade finance program, five financing facilities for a total of US$62m were approved. The facilities will help financial institutions in Armenia, Georgia, Honduras, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea (OFID’s first trade finance lending operation in that country) expand their services for on-lending to SMEs and local businesses and support the import and export of strategic commodities.

Since its inception, OFID has committed over US$15.7bn in much-needed concessional development financing to 134 developing countries around the world, with priority given to the poorest amongst them.

RUMPHI, 12 December 2013 (IRIN) - Parts of Malawi, including large parts of the northern region, have not received rain since February 2013 and are now experiencing severe water shortages. Women in the affected areas are leaving their homes in the early hours of the morning and walking up to 40 minutes to fetch water from the closest source.

"One will have to be up and on their way to the nearest borehole by midnight if she is to be in a position to get water, because by that time several other people will already have lined up for the same," said Lucky Chadewa, who lives in Chikwawa in northern Malawi's Rumphi district.

The water table has dropped as the rainless days have continued and boreholes yield less water or even dry up. The women wait for them to refill rather than return home empty-handed. "It is totally just by luck that one gets. [any] these days because after filling just a few buckets, the borehole stops producing water," Chadewa told IRIN.

Women often leave their buckets in the queue at the borehole and rush back home so they can get their children ready for school. But when they return they find that their buckets have been pushed to the back of the queue and they may spend the rest of the day waiting to fill them.

Erratic rains

In its latest update, the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) - composed of the government, UN agencies and NGOs - has identified 24 districts across the country that are experiencing critical food shortages as a result of erratic rains. Rumphi is one of three such districts in the northern region. The MVAC update estimates that 1.85 million people will need food assistance until the next expected harvest, in March 2014.

In Rumphi, Karonga and Mzimba districts the rainy season, which normally extends into May or June, got off to a late start and ended in February. "By the time the rains stopped in the affected areas, the amount of water that had penetrated the ground was definitely not enough to either maintain the water table or raise it. This is why the boreholes are not giving the right amount of water," Mahara Nyirenda, a climate change expert with the Development Fund of Norway, told IRIN.

A traditional leader in Chadewa's area, Group Village Headman (GVH) "Phete" Oscar Zungwara Gondwe, said nearby rivers and taps connected to the Nkhamanga rural water supply project, a gravity-fed water supply system, had also dried up some time ago.

Tiwonge Moyo, a resident of Euthini in the western side of Mzimba district, said the women in her area were also leaving home very early in the morning to reach the local borehole before it ran dry. "If you delay in waking up and getting to the borehole, just forget about water on that day," she told IRIN.

She said the river beds that women normally dig into to reach water during the dry season had also stopped yielding any. "This is the first time that we are literally getting no supply from these streams. It is dry sand wherever you can dig."

Contaminated water sources

The situation looks set to worsen as the current rainy season also appears to be getting off to a late start. So far, only a few days of heavy rain fell in early October.

Residents in Karonga told IRIN that the lack of functioning boreholes has forced them to use water from unprotected sources. "Clean water is greatly needed here. The water in the few shallow wells that have not dried up yet is not safe," Gladson Kibira, a resident of Mwakasangira village in the northern part of the district, told IRIN.

"When the area experienced flooding earlier this year, the running water swept so many things, including animals, into the wells. These animals most likely died there and that is the kind of stuff that we are drinking when we turn to the shallow wells."

Although there have been no confirmed outbreaks of waterborne diseases resulting from the shortages, those people living in areas with poor rainfall told IRIN they were concerned about not having enough water for hygiene purposes, like hand washing after using the toilet.

The Director of Planning and Development (DPD) for Karonga district council, Emmanuel Bulukutu, told IRIN that interventions to combat the water shortage depended on donor assistance. "The boreholes are usually drilled by humanitarian organizations working in the water and sanitation sector," he said.

Frank Mkandawire, the Director of Planning and Development for Rumphi, said most interventions relating to water and sanitation in his district were longer term, such as plans to replace the water piping system, and reforest the water catchment areas. Besides low rainfall, he suggested that the drying up of water sources was linked to deforestation in these locations.

Farmers impacted

John Paul, the Project Manager for Building Community Resistance to Climate Change (BCRCC), a project run by the agriculture NGO, Total Land Care, told IRIN that the current water shortages are threatening food security. Households usually make use of nearby water sources to put in place rudimentary irrigation systems in years when rainfall is erratic, but these sources have dried up due to the low water table, making this impossible.

"This low water table will also have some effects on the coming farming season, although the gravity of these effects will differ from one soil type to another," he said. The dryness of the soil could delay planting, as it would take some time for sufficient moisture to accumulate to support seed germination.

"The current situation is also most likely going to worsen if the beginning of the rainy season continues to delay," said Paul. "With these dry spells, the soil layer above the water table is always hot and dry. This promotes evaporation from the water table, hence lowering it [further]."

sm/ks/he

[END]

12/12/2013 12:03 GMT

Par Serge DANIEL

BAMAKO, 12 décembre 2013 (AFP) - Le Mali vote à nouveau dimanche pour un second tour de législatives qui, après la présidentielle de l'été et le premier tour du mois dernier, doit sceller le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel en dépit de la crainte toujours présente d'attentats jihadistes le jour du scrutin.

Quelque 6,5 millions de Maliens sont appelés à participer à cette dernière étape d'un processus électoral qui, après la présidentielle remportée le 11 août par Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK), doit sceller le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel interrompu le 22 mars 2012 par un coup d'Eat ayant précipité la chute du nord du pays aux mains de groupes jihadistes.

Ces groupes liés à Al-Qaïda ont été considérablement affectés par une intervention militaire internationale lancée par la France en janvier toujours en cours, mais des éléments jihadistes restent actifs dans le Nord où, depuis fin septembre, ils ont tué une dizaine de militaires maliens et tchadiens, ainsi que des civils dans des attentats et tirs à l'arme lourde.

Dix-neuf jihadistes ont encore été tués mardi lors d'une opération de l'armée française menée dans la région de Tombouctou.

Les quelque 3.000 soldats français toujours présents au Mali assureront la sécurité du scrutin de dimanche aux côtés de l'armée malienne et des quelque 6.000 soldats de la mission de l'ONU, la Minusma.

Le premier tour du 24 novembre, déjà sécurisé par ces mêmes forces, s'était déroulé sans incidents majeurs, mais la crainte d'actions islamistes armées demeure très présente dans les esprits.

A l'issue du premier tour, seulement 19 sièges avaient été pourvus sur les 147 que compte l'Assemblée nationale.

Le taux de participation y avait été nettement plus faible qu'à la présidentielle - 38,6% contre 48,9% - et risque de l'être plus encore dimanche. La campagne électorale, qui s'achève vendredi soir a été encore plus terne que celle du premier tour, a constaté l'AFP.

Les Maliens "fatigués d'aller voter"

"Il y a le sentiment qu'après l'élection du président de la République, le match est terminé. C'est une erreur, mais c'est comme ça", note Mamadou Samaké, sociologue et enseignant à l'université du Bamako qui ajoute que les Maliens "sont fatigués d'aller voter".

Après le premier tour, Louis Michel, chef des observateurs de l'Union européenne (UE), avait exhorté "tous les acteurs de la vie politique à une mobilisation le 15 décembre". "Dans le contexte particulier du Mali, voter n'est pas seulement un droit, c'est un devoir moral", avait-il estimé.

L'objectif pour le président Keïta est que son parti, le Rassemblement pour le Mali (RPM), et ses alliés obtiennent une confortable majorité à l'Assemblée nationale.

Les religieux qui, dans un pays à plus de 90% musulman prennent de plus en plus de poids dans la vie politique locale, ont clairement affirmé qu'ils soutenaient le président malien, même s'ils ont des candidats aux législatives disséminés sur les 23 listes de candidatures en compétition qui ne comptent en revanche que peu de femmes.

Soumaïla Cissé, candidat malheureux au second tour de la présidentielle face à IBK, a été élu dès le premier tour dans sa circonscription de Niafunké, près de Tombouctou. Avec son parti, l'Union pour la République et la démocratie (URD), il ambitionne de devenir le chef de l'opposition parlementaire.

Dans le Nord, seuls voteront les électeurs des régions de Gao et Tombouctou, les sièges de la région de Kidal, fief de la minorité touareg et de sa rébellion ayant été pourvus au premier tour, dont deux par des ex-rebelles ayant rallié le parti d'IBK.

Plusieurs centaines d'observateurs nationaux et internationaux surveilleront le scrutin, essentiellement dans le sud et le centre du pays, le Nord étant considéré comme encore trop dangereux pour s'y aventurer.

sd-stb/mrb/jlb

© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Better staple food access and decline in malnutrition rates

KEY MESSAGES

• Food stocks from on-farm production are currently the main source of food, allowing households to meet their daily food needs fairly easily. With the combined effects of increased supply and ongoing assistance programs driving down the crop prices, households in all parts of the country should experience Minimal acute food insecurity (Phase 1, IPC 2.0) between now and March of next year.

• Markets are well-stocked and cereal prices have started to decrease in line with normal seasonal trends.
  Nationwide prices for white maize are down by more than 15 percent from last year and six percent below the five-year average, while reported prices for millet and white sorghum across the country are up by three percent.

• According to the preliminary findings by the SMART nutritional survey conducted in August/September of this year, global acute malnutrition rates around the country are under 10 percent following the good growing seasons in all parts of the country and the assistance programs mounted by the government and its partners.

Accompagné de la Directrice-Représentante du PAM, Angelline Rudakubana, l’ambassadeur de France au Burkina Faso, S.E Gilles Thibault, s’est rendu du 29 novembre au 1er décembre dernier dans la région du Sahel. L’objet de cette mission était de visiter les activités menées par le PAM dans cette zone, y compris les activités de nutrition et de cantines scolaires.

L’Ambassadeur G. Thibault, a pu, lors de cette première visite aux activités du PAM, suivre l’assistance alimentaire et nutritionnelle qui fait partie d’une contribution française évaluée à 6,3 millions d’euros en faveur des projets de lutte contre la malnutrition entre 2010 et 2013. La France est l’un des principaux contributeurs du PAM au Burkina Faso.

Une première visite a eu lieu dans les magasins de vivres gérés conjointement par le PAM et les services nationaux, où les vivres achetés localement sont entreposés.

Enfin la mission s’est achevée à Gangaol, à 25 km de Dori (capitale de la région du Sahel burkinabè) pour une visite de l’école primaire et du centre de santé.

A l’école de Gangaol, l’une des 800 écoles primaires de la région, (soit environ 100 000 élèves au total), les pensionnaires bénéficient, grâce aux repas scolaires du PAM, d’une alimentation quotidienne comprenant un petit déjeuner, un déjeuner ainsi que des rations sèches de vivres pour les filles. Selon M. Issiaka Hamidou, Directeur de l’école, "L’effectif actuel est de 200 élèves dont 102 filles. Cette parité filles-garçons marque l’évolution positive de l’inscription des filles qui est notamment due aux rations sèches de vivres distribuées par le PAM".

A Gangaol, tout comme dans les 85 centres de santé de la région, le PAM apporte une assistance nutritionnelle aux femmes enceintes et allaitantes ainsi qu’aux enfants de 6 à 59 mois pour le traitement de la malnutrition aiguë modérée. Par ailleurs, tous les enfants de 6 à 23 mois bénéficient d’un appui nutritionnel pendant la période de soudure, pour éviter ainsi la dégradation de leur état nutritionnel. En 2013, la France a contribué à hauteur de 1,75 millions d’euros pour l’achat de Plumpy’Sup utilisé pour le traitement de la malnutrition des enfants.

L’Ambassadeur s’est entretenu avec les bénéficiaires et les populations, et a souligné l’importance de la nutrition et la scolarisation des filles et s’est exprimé au sujet du mariage et de la maternité précoce. "Vous devez inscrire les garçons tout comme les filles à l’école et les y maintenir. Les filles ne doivent plus être retirées de l’école pour être mariées. C’est très important pour leur santé, de même que pour l’avenir du pays" a-t-il déclaré.

De retour à Dori, l’ambassadeur a visité les travaux d’aménagement de la grande mare mis en œuvre par la commune. Les 602 participants de ce chantier (dont 333 femmes), reçoivent du PAM un transfert monétaire sous forme de cash contre actifs productifs. Tout en améliorant le revenu des participants aux travaux, la réalisation de cette activité permettra aux populations de disposer de l’eau pour les activités agro-pastorales, de maraichage, mais également de renforcer leur capacité de résilience et de lutter contre la pauvreté.

Enfin, G. Thibault a visité le camp des réfugiés maliens de Goudebo où le PAM apporte une assistance alimentaire depuis octobre 2012 ainsi qu’une contribution financière depuis septembre 2013.

Pour mener à bien son programme d’intervention et plus particulièrement les activités relatives à l’alimentation des enfants dans les écoles, la lutte contre la malnutrition, le soutien aux personnes vulnérables à travers les activités de cash contre actifs productifs et l’assistance aux réfugiés, le PAM a un besoin urgent de 35,1 millions de dollars pour 2014, faute de quoi son assistance sera interrompue au Burkina Faso.

Minimal food insecurity in most rural areas of the country

KEY MESSAGES

• Based on estimates by the joint crop assessment, nationwide crop production is expected to surpass the five-year average by 19 percent. With food availability from the latest round of harvests and the positive effects of good conditions in pastoral areas, most rural areas of the country will experience Minimal food insecurity (IPC Phase 1) through December.

• However, large shortfalls from harvests of rainfed cereal crops in parts of Guidimakha, Gorgol, and Brakna have curtailed seasonal cereal availability and reduced wage income from farm labor. Thus, poor households in these areas will be facing Stressed acute food insecurity outcomes (IPC Phase 2) between January and March of next year.

• The sharp improvement in environmental conditions with the rainfall activity in early November in the northern reaches of the country has led to a new outbreak of locust infestations. In spite of the National Locust Control Center’s (CNLA) increased control measures, pressure from locust populations could be a source of concern between November and January and pose a serious threat to flood-recession crops.

12 December 2013 – Terrorism, trafficking in arms, drugs and people, and other transnational forms of organized crime are threatening security in Africa’s vast sub-Saharan Sahel region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today.

“The Sahel’s vast size and long, porous borders mean that such challenges can be addressed successfully only if the countries of the region work together,” he told the Security Council at the start of a meeting on the situation in the region. The meeting was also addressed by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and Romano Prodi, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel.

“The United Nations will continue its efforts to promote security, good governance and resilience,” he said, calling also for more to be done to address food crises that plague the Sahel as well as to improve conditions in migrants’ communities of origin while generating more legal opportunities for migrants to work abroad.

Mr. Ban recalled his visit with Mr. Kim last month to four Sahel countries - Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad – citing a ‘very moving” visit he made to Timbuktu in northern Mali, a region seized by radical Islamists in 2012 before they were driven out by French-led forces.

“People there are struggling to recover from human rights abuses and upheaval,” he said. “I was given an opportunity to view the cultural treasures that had been damaged in attacks. This was a terrible loss for Mali – and for our common global heritage - but with UNESCO’s (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) help, we are moving to safeguard it.”

But he added that, despite progress made towards re-establishing constitutional order in Mali, which over the past two years has witnessed a military coup d’état, fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels, and the seizure the north by the Islamists, he remains concerned with the security situation.

He called for continued strengthening of The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), a 12,600-strong force set up by the Council in April and authorized “to use all necessary means” to carry out security-related stabilization tasks, protect civilians, UN staff and cultural artefacts, and create the conditions for provision of humanitarian aid.

The Sahel stretches from Mauritania in the west to Eritrea in the east, a vast belt dividing the Sahara desert and the savannahs to the south, which has undergone three major droughts in less than a decade and where more than 11 million people are at risk of hunger and 5 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition.

One of the biggest challenges for the humanitarian community since 2011 was the severe food insecurity and malnutrition situation across the Sahel. The crisis affected more than 18 million people in eight countries, and 1 million children under age 5 were at risk of malnutrition. Successive droughts, combined with conflict, displacement and cholera outbreaks, exacerbated the crisis.
Since the crisis began in 2011, CERF has allocated more than US$171 million to countries in the Sahel to improve food security and nutrition, help displaced people and prevent disease outbreaks. The $60.8 million allocated this year accounts for almost 13 per cent of all CERF allocations in 2013.

SC/11210

Security Council
7081st Meeting (AM)

Considering the situation in the Sahel today, the Security Council reaffirmed its continued commitment to address the complex security and political challenges in that region, which were interrelated with humanitarian and developmental issues, as well as the adverse effects of climate and ecological changes.

In a presidential statement (document S/PRST/2013/20), the Council also strongly condemned the abuses of human rights and violence against civilians, by terrorists and other extremist groups, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of countries of the Sahel region.

Underscoring the importance of a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated approach encompassing governance, security, humanitarian, human rights and developmental aspects, the Council reaffirmed its request to the Secretary-General to ensure early progress towards the effective implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel.

Welcoming the high-level meeting on the situation in the Sahel on 26 September 2013 and the joint visit of the Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group, with the participation of the African Union, European Union and African Development Bank, to the Sahel region from 4 to 7 November 2013, the Council welcomed the announcements in planned funding, aimed at supporting major national and regional development priorities.

In addition, the Council underscored the importance of national and regional ownership of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and recognized the need for the Strategy to be implemented in close consultation with Member States of the Sahel, West Africa, and the Maghreb, as well as regional, multilateral, and other bilateral donors and partners.

Prior to the adoption of the presidential statement, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Council on his visit to the region. The vast size and long porous borders of the Sahel meant that its challenges could be addressed successfully only if the countries of the region worked together, he said.

Terrorist acts and other transnational crime were threatening security in the region, he added. It was also vital to address the food crises that plagued the Sahel.

Noting that the World Bank and the European Union had committed to providing more than $8.2 billion to the region, he also welcomed the African Development Bank’s establishment of an Action Fund which would jumpstart underfunded projects and contribute to longer-term development.

“The world will support the Sahel,” Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, stated in his briefing, calling for a coordinated and regional approach. The World Bank had committed funds for the creation of social safety nets and support for the private sector to encourage entrepreneurship. It was also important to support the economic empowerment of women and the Bank had committed $200 million to address that issue.

The people of the Sahel had struggled for too long, he said. There was nothing pre-ordained about that state of affairs. They wanted good jobs, education and access to quality health care. They hoped for a better life for their children. Their lives could be transformed through a sustained commitment by the international community to their vision for a better life.

The Council also heard from Romano Prodi, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel, who stressed the link between security, governance and humanitarian development. The United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel had identified agriculture, energy, infrastructure, education and health as the five priority sectors, he added.

The region was competing for international attention with other equally serious crises, he said. However, simply maintaining attention to the region was not enough. Considerable resources were necessary and it was vital to mobilize resources multilaterally and bilaterally. The Sahel Action Fund, which was being formalized by the African Development Bank, was a step in that direction.

Other speakers today underscored that there could be no lasting security without inclusive development, including Michel Reveyrand-De Menthon, the European Union Special Representative for the Sahel. The conflict in Mali, he added, was an illustration of the security and development crisis.

At the same time, he noted, the effort to reinstate peace in Mali would be in vain if it was not followed by efforts from neighboring countries. Cooperation between the countries of the Sahel and the Maghreb was crucial. Many States of the region had committed to developing coordination mechanisms and the European Union would fully support those initiatives. Instead of a vast space where insecurity was rampant, the Sahel, he hoped, could be a place of cultural and economic development.

The “constraints of Sahel’s history and geography” called for a united approach, Téte António, Permanent Observer for the African Union, said. He welcomed the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the region, which encompassed humanitarian, security and development aspects and said that the African Union would work to set up a joint secretariat for that strategy.

A crucial tool, he noted, for dealing with the region’s transnational security challenges was the Nuakchott Process, which was based on regular meetings among the heads of security services. The African Union would consider measures to strengthen that process.

Also speaking were the representatives of Morocco, Pakistan, United States, Republic of Korea, Australia, Guatemala, China, Argentina, United Kingdom, Togo, Rwanda, Luxembourg, Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, and France.

The meeting began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 12:25 p.m.

Environmental degradation, limited health facilities and lack of public awareness all contribute to pushing malnutrition in eastern Chad over the emergency threshold.

By Alex Duval Smith

Reducing childhood malnutrition in eastern Chad requires improved health facilities and greater public awareness – both of which are challenges in an environment marked by poverty, distance and environmental degradation.

ABECHE, Chad, 12 December 2013 – Mariam and Abdallah are both toddlers from similarly poor families living in eastern Chad, one of the harshest environments in the world. And both had the spark taken out of their eyes by malnutrition. Yet there is a world of difference between their survival chances.

Under the biggest tree in the village of Kelingan, 14-month-old Mariam rests, weak but calm, on her mother’s lap. Hawai Mahamat has joined a group of two dozen mothers attending an outreach clinic. Vaccination, malaria prevention and nutrition tips are offered by a team of health workers from the nearest town, Abeche.

“She seems to be the weak one in the family,” says Mahamat, who at 21 is the mother of four children, and six months pregnant. The visiting nurse, Ache-Moussa Abderamane, says Mariam’s is a classic case of moderate malnutrition. “You stopped breastfeeding her,” the nurse tells Mahamat. “If you had continued, your child would not be in this state, with fever and diarrhoea.”

Mahamat explains that soon after Mariam was born, she introduced broth and water into her diet. As soon as she knew she was pregnant again, she stopped breastfeeding Mariam altogether. She claims: “You cannot breastfeed one child when you are pregnant with another. The milk of a pregnant woman is rotten,” she says to nods of approval from her friends. Nurse Abderamane, 38, reaches for a spiral-bound flip chart. She launches into a quiz focused on vital nutrients and the virtues of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

Fighting for life

Two hours’ donkey ride away, on a rusty bed in the spartan paediatric ward of Abeche Regional Hospital, 20-month-old Abdallah rests on the lap of his mother, Hawa Ahmat, 25. He has a tube taped to his face. His head is slumped back over her forearm. He is fighting for his life, and his feverish body rejects food. Nurses have bandaged his hands to stop him ripping off the feeding tube.

In a 2013 study, severe acute malnutrition among under-5s in the Ouaddai region, where Abeche and Kelingan are situated, stood at 2.6 per cent. The World Health Organization classifies a severe acute malnutrition rate of 2 per cent or higher as a nutritional emergency.

In the scorched landscape of eastern Chad, many factors contribute to this desperate situation. Health infrastructure is minimal. Distances are great. And climate change is turning the landscape to dust.

Khadidja Chaib Mahamat, a nurse at Abeche Regional Hospital, tries to understand why Abdallah has reached such a weak state. His mother says she is no longer breastfeeding the boy because she is five months pregnant. She is expecting her eighth child.

“I stopped three months ago to avoid damaging the baby. I gave him meat broth,” she says.

Ahmat brought Abdallah to the hospital two weeks ago after he lost his appetite. He weighed 6.6 kg (14.5 lbs) at a height of 72 cm (2 ft 4 in). He had blisters on his feet and white discharge – thrush – coming from his mouth. Staff immediately identified severe acute malnutrition.

Since admission, the boy’s weight has fallen to 5.3 kg (11.6 lbs). “It has declined because we have treated the blisters, and the water in those was adding weight,” says Ms. Mahamat. “Now we hope he will turn the corner but he will not be discharged until he reaches a target weight of 7.9 kilos.”

Education is key

Nurse Mahamat says there are 15 children in Abeche’s paediatric ward with severe acute malnutrition. She has spent 10 years at the ward without seeing any improvement in mothers’ knowledge of nutrition. “We are better able to cope these days, as UNICEF funds 21 staff, supporting the nine of us who are paid by the government.”

The Government of Chad, supported by UNICEF, has undertaken to do more to improve the chances of Chad’s babies. A national nutrition policy has just been introduced.

“But none of these children would be here if the mothers were better informed,” she says. “We speak to them about breastfeeding, nutrition and contraception, but by the time they get here, all they are thinking about is the survival of the child. Then they go off, fall pregnant again and make the same mistakes.”

UNICEF, with the support of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office (ECHO), is helping provide a safety net to produce good results. Community health workers have been trained, and the number of monthly outreach clinics – such as the one held by nurse Abderamane at Kelingan, where Mariam’s case of moderate malnutrition was spotted – is growing. Local radio stations and town criers with megaphones spread nutrition messages.

Baby Mariam is an example of a malnutrition case that was caught early. She should be able to recover full health without being admitted to hospital.

When she is not at Kelingan or one of the other three villages she visits once a month on her motorbike, nurse Abderamane can be found running a clinic in Abeche.

“The key is education, and we need to do a lot more of it,” she says.

**New growing techniques increase millet production*

In the midst of a test plot marked with yellow flags, two young scientists work together amid multiple rows of small millet plants, manipulating an electronic device used to measure the strength of the plants. Neither seems to mind the light rain as they note the data registering from the machine.

One of the scientists is Muhammad Sarr, a 27-year-old forestry engineer and recent graduate of Senegal’s Higher Institute for Agricultural and Rural Education, known as ENSA. The other is Patrick Trail, 23, an American graduate student from the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Science at Virginia Tech University, which implements a key USAID program under Feed the Future, the U.S. Government's global hunger and food security initiative.

USAID's Education and Research in Agriculture project (ERA) is designed to increase yields of millet despite unpredictable rainfall by planting the crop with legumes to conserve water and add nutrients to the soil. Strengthening the millet value chain, from planting and cultivating through processing and sale, is a main focus of Feed the Future in Senegal. Other key value chains include rice, corn and fisheries.

“With these experiments on this technique of conservation agriculture, we hope to improve millet production among small farmers and beyond to combat food insecurity,” Trail explained in summer 2013 as he checked his equipment readings. “Since millet is a staple crop in Senegal, I am collaborating with local institutions as part of my studies.”

Virginia Tech, among a small group of American universities devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences, is the main implementer of the five-year ERA project, which collaborates with a dozen additional institutes of higher education and research in the United States and Senegal.

Sarr explained the research involves a plot of 800 square meters, divided into eight sections, where millet is combined with three different varieties of legumes selected during a pre-trial. The researchers are comparing the potential benefits of the mixture—providing ground cover, blocking weeds and impact on soil—through analysis of its moisture level and nutritional quality.

“We’re trying to find the best mix,” Sarr said. “We also expect to increase yields through intercropping, because legumes have the ability to absorb atmospheric nitrogen which is essential for plant growth. Legumes grow leaves that cover the ground, which reduces evaporation. The bonus is that people can eat them as well.”

Trail adds that the scope of the research goes beyond collection of scientific results, and importantly aims to improve skills of research students in agronomy. “This can be as important as the results that we get,” he said. “It’s crucial to involve institutions in the global scientific method, which will ultimately serve all students in the future.”

One of the major goals of the exchange program is to prepare institutions to enable students to drive their own agricultural research. ERA is involving additional students at Senegal’s two main agricultural research institutes to take daily measurements and maintain the plots, for which they can get credit towards graduation.

“We’re working with Senegalese students who previously didn’t have the capacity for research at this level," said Patrick Guilbaud, director of ERA. “The exchange helps them master the techniques so they can in turn work with local farmers and apply the same approaches.” Likewise, Guilbaud said, American research students would never have such an opportunity to make a demonstrable impact on food security in the developing world.

“The more students that have access to projects like this will ensure that work continues long after I return to Virginia Tech,” says Trail. “It’s a win-win partnership for all.”

The ERA project aims to improve agricultural education at the college level, increase exports, and fight against hunger and food insecurity in Senegal. Since the project began in 2010, Virginia Tech has partnered with four American universities—Connecticut, Michigan State, Purdue and Tuskegee—as well as with Senegalese agriculture experts to strengthen the country's agricultural education sector.

CS/11210 Conseil de sécurité 7081e séance – matin

Le Conseil de sécurité a, ce matin, réaffirmé sa volonté de trouver une solution aux problèmes d’ordre sécuritaire, politique, humanitaire, écologique et de développement de la région du Sahel, où continue de régner une « situation alarmante ».

Dans une déclaration présidentielle lue par son Président pour le mois de décembre, l’Ambassadeur Gérard Araud, de la France, le Conseil prie, à cet effet, le Secrétaire général d’œuvrer rapidement à la mise en œuvre effective de la Stratégie intégrée de l’ONU pour le Sahel.

M. Romano Prodi, qui s’exprimait pour la dernière fois en tant qu’Envoyé spécial du Secrétaire général pour le Sahel, a insisté sur les progrès enregistrés dans la mise en œuvre de cette Stratégie, depuis sa présentation au Conseil en juin dernier. Il a en particulier invité la communauté internationale à maintenir son attention sur la région du Sahel car, a-t-il prévenu, cette attention est en déclin. Il a émis la crainte que la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie intégrée risque de souffrir du fait que la crise dans la région soit en concurrence avec d’autres crises ailleurs dans le monde.

Le Conseil de sécurité, dans sa déclaration présidentielle juge important de susciter l’appropriation nationale et régionale de la Stratégie intégrée des Nations Unies pour le Sahel et d’en assurer la mise en œuvre en étroite consultation avec les États du Sahel, de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Maghreb, et avec les donateurs et partenaires régionaux et multilatéraux. Les entités des Nations Unies qui concourent à la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie sont, pour leur part, priées de coordonner leurs actions de manière à optimiser les synergies.

Pour rappel, cette Stratégie intégrée, demandée par le Conseil dans sa résolution 2056 (2012), est basée sur la bonne gouvernance dans l’ensemble de la région, des mécanismes de sécurité nationaux et régionaux capables de faire face aux menaces transfrontières, et l’intégration des plans humanitaires et de développement afin d’assurer la résilience à long terme.

Ouvrant la réunion, le Secrétaire général de l’ONU, M. Ban Ki-moon, est revenu sur la visite qu’il a effectuée du 4 au 7 novembre au Mali, au Niger, au Tchad et au Burkina Faso, aux côtés du Président de la Banque mondiale, M. Jim Yong Kim, et de hauts responsables de l’Union africaine et de l’Union européenne. Le Président de la Banque mondiale s’est exprimé, aujourd’hui devant le Conseil, par vidéoconférence depuis Washington D.C.

Le Secrétaire général a rappelé, qu’à Bamako, première étape de sa visite, les responsables des organisations internationales et les dirigeants africains ont promis d’améliorer leur coopération dans le cadre de la Stratégie intégrée. « L’immensité de la région et la porosité des frontières signifient que ces défis ne pourront être relevés que si les pays de la région travaillent ensemble », a affirmé M. Ban.

L’Observateur permanent de l’Union africaine auprès des Nations Unies, M. Téte António, a d’ailleurs profité de ce débat pour faire part de la disponibilité de son organisation de travailler à la mise en place du secrétariat conjoint sur la Stratégie intégrée de l’ONU pour le Sahel. Qualifiant la visite du mois dernier « d’historique », le Président de la Banque mondiale a, pour sa part, confirmé l’allocation d’une première enveloppe de 1,2 milliard de dollars aux efforts de développement de la région. « Cette aide servira de premier filet de sécurité pour venir en aide aux ménages », a-t-il précisé. Pour sa part, le Représentant spécial de l’Union européenne pour le Sahel, M. Michel Reveyrand-de Menthon, a indiqué que l’Union européenne consacrerait 5 milliards d’euros au Sahel au cours des sept prochaines années.

Détaillant les progrès enregistrés dans la mise en œuvre des trois piliers de la Stratégie, M. Prodi a précisé qu’il avait axé les efforts sur le renforcement des capacités en vue d’assurer plus efficacement les services de base et l’appui aux processus électoraux. Au titre du renforcement des mécanismes sécuritaires, l’Envoyé spécial a assuré que la mise en œuvre des activités pour une gestion intégrée des frontières et la prévention de l’idéologie violente avaient démarré. La plateforme de coordination, adoptée à Bamako dans le cadre de la Stratégie intégrée, devrait être élargie aux pays voisins, notamment le Maroc, l’Algérie, le Sénégal et surtout la Libye, a-t-il préconisé. « La situation en Libye a un impact sur toute la région », a-t-il expliqué. Enfin, en ce qui concerne le troisième pilier, M. Prodi a indiqué que des interventions avaient été définies pour améliorer la résilience dans sept pays de la région sahélienne. « Des lacunes ont été identifiées dans les domaines de la microassurance et de l’autonomisation des communautés pastorales », a-t-il conclu.

Lors des échanges qui ont suivi, les membres du Conseil de sécurité ont salué, de manière unanime, la récente visite conjointe dans la région, « signe que le Sahel fait partie des priorités de la communauté internationale », comme l’a affirmé le représentant de la Chine. Si elles ont reconnu la pertinence de la Stratégie intégrée des Nations Unies, certaines délégations, à l’instar de celle du Maroc –pays qui a initié la déclaration présidentielle– en ont demandé une mise en œuvre rigoureuse. « Les 150 millions d’habitants de la région du Sahel ne pourront pas résister longtemps à la tentation d’immigrer si les conditions économiques et sociales ne s’améliorent pas », a prévenu le délégué du Maroc.

Le représentant de la France a, pour sa part, insisté sur la notion de confiance, élément clef pour la réussite de la Stratégie intégrée. « Sans confiance entre tous les États de la région, nous ne pourrons pas apporter une réponse coordonnée aux défis transnationaux », a-t-il lancé. Son homologue de la Fédération de Russie a déclaré que la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie intégrée sera évaluée à l’aune des résultats obtenus.

Comme le souligne la déclaration présidentielle, le Secrétaire général devra présenter au Conseil de sécurité le rapport sur l’état d’avancement de la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie intégrée des Nations Unies pour le Sahel le 30 juin 2014 au plus tard. La situation au Mali a été abordée par un grand nombre d’intervenants, dont la déléguée du Luxembourg, qui a fait observer que la crise malienne était la « manifestation la plus aiguë et la plus récente d’un cycle récurrent d’insécurité dans la région du Sahel ». Tandis que l’Envoyé spécial a salué les progrès accomplis depuis l’opération française dans ce pays, le Secrétaire général a déploré que le processus politique entre le Gouvernement malien et les groupes armés ait été retardé. « Nous devons continuer de renforcer la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA)», a-t-il préconisé.

Ce document est le premier rapport mensuel sur le suivi des actions prioritaires identifiées par chaque cluster/secteur au Mali dans le « Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le Nord Mali » adopté en septembre 2013 par l’Équipe Humanitaire Pays au Mali.

Les clusters/secteurs non repris dans ce rapport sont ceux pour lesquels les projets sont dans leur phase de préparation, ceux pour lesquels les informations sur le suivi des actions prioritaires ne sont pas disponibles, ou bien ceux dont les activités n’ont pas commencées.

Les données compilées dans le présent rapport couvrent les 36 zones prioritaires recensées dans le « Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le Nord Mali » et ne reflètent pas la situation à l'échelle du pays.
Pour plus d'informations sur les zones prioritaires identifiées, veuillez consulter le «Plan d'actions prioritaires pour le nord du Mali » au lien suivant: https://mali.humanitarianresponse.info/fr/plan-daction-prioritaire-pour-...