WHO: OIC Member States: Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Regional/ Inter-Governmental/ Non-Governmental Organizations and Banks: African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Direct Aid, International Islamic Charity Organization.
Red Crescent Societies: United Arab Emirates Red Crescent, Qatar Red Crescent, Turkish Red Crescent WHAT: Mission to Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso
WHEN: 15-21 October 2012
WHERE: Niamey, Bamako, Ouagadougou and field visits
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator (RHC) is organising a high level Member States’ visit to Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso from 15 to 21 October.
The objective of this visit is to raise awareness of the humanitarian crises in the Sahel region and highlight the role of the multilateral humanitarian system in supporting the national response in these three countries.
The programme will include field visits to crisis-affected areas to gain first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities in the response. Furthermore, participants in the mission will also meet Government officials, UN representatives and civil society organisations in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The acute food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel region has pushed more than 18 million people to the edge of survival. The situation has been exacerbated by insecurity in Mali where some 320,000 people have fled their homes. Many of them have taken refuge in Niger and Burkina Faso.
Humanitarian organisations in the Sahel have complemented the national response with a broad range of life-saving interventions. The overall requirement for the humanitarian response stands at $1.6 billion and is 59 percent funded.
For further details of media opportunities during the trip, and to set up interviews with members of the mission please contact: Franck Kudzo Kuwonu OCHA-Niger, (+227) 96 00 94 96, E-mail, kuwonu@un.org; Katy Thiam OCHAMali, (+263) 772125298, E-mail: thiamk@un.org, Emmanuelle Schneider OCHA-Burkina Faso, (221) 77 450 6232,
E-mail: schneider1@un.org, Jens Laerke OCHA-Geneva, (41) 79 472 9750, E-mail: laerke@un.org.
OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.
For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org