Mali Humanitarian Situation Report No. 8 © UNICEF/C99R1729/Dicko Situation in Numbers 3,500,000 children in need of humanitarian © UNICEF/318A7554/Dicko assistance (OCHA Mali HNO revised Reporting Period: 01 to 31 August 2020 August 2020) Highlights 6,800,000 people in need of humanitarian • A military coup d'etat on August 18, 2020 resulted in the removal of the assistance President and the Government as well as the introduction of political (OCHA Mali HNO revised August 2020) and financial sanctions by the regional organization ECOWAS. • 96,629 (including 23,720 in August) cases of severe malnutrition were treated and 892,846 under 5 five children screened during the seasonal malaria prevention integrated mass campaign. 287,496 • 3,803 children affected by humanitarian crises, in particular due to conflict, were reached with community based psychosocial support in Internally displaced people (National Directorate of Social Development - DNDS. Bamako district, Gao, Kidal, Ménaka, Mopti and Timbuktu regions. Matrix for Monitoring Displacement (DTM),30 July 2020) • UNICEF provided 15,218 Households (91,308 people) with short term emergency water treatment and hygiene kits as well as sustainable water supply services as of August 31, 2020 in Mopti, Gao, Kidal, Timbuktu and Taoudenit regions. • Outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) in the UNICEF Appeal 2020 northern region of Mali with 2 confirmed cases in Menaka region US$ 51,85 million UNICEF’s Response and Funding Status Funds Received $ 16,6 M (33%) Funding gap $ 31,3 M (60 %) Carry-forward, *Funding available includes carry-over and funds received in the current year. $ 3.8 M (7%) 1 Funding Overview and Partnerships In 2020, UNICEF is appealing for US$ 52 million to meet the humanitarian needs of childen in Mali, to facilitate access to quality basic social services and protect children affected by the crisis. As of 31st August, 2020, US$ 16,678,364 had been received in addition to the US$ 3,847,562 carry-forward for a total of US$ 20,525,926, representing 40 per cent of the Global Appeal. WASH, Health and Education remain the most underfunded sectors with respectively 12; 15 and 27 per cent of fund received. Based on the current situation in the country, the needs for these sectors remain high, necessitating an increase in funding to ensure vital interventions and to maintain previous investments. UNICEF also requires US$ 24.2 million to respond effectively and efficiently to the COVID-19 pandemic. While expressing its deep gratitude to all public and private donors for the contributions received (the Spanish Committee for UNICEF, the CERF, ECHO, The Gobal Humanitarian Funds, the governments of the USA, of Spain, of the Czech Republic, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), UNICEF calls for additional contributions to fill the current 60 per cent gap - without which it will not be able to provide an adequate response to vulnerable children in Mali whose needs are on the increase due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on basic services. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs UNICEF Field Structure in Mali The country is facing a situation of socio-political instability aggravated withthe military Coup d'Etat that led to the resignation of the President of the Republic on August 18, 2020. The borders of the country are closed with the sanctions of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with inevitable socio-economic repercussions on populations. The situation has since then remained calm but unpredictable. In this context, the humanitarian situation is extremely fragile and complex and remains characterised by the presence of non-state armed groups, on-going insecurity along the borders in the Liptako Gourma countries (Burkina Faso and Niger), recurrent inter-communal conflicts, increased crime, the presence of improvised explosive devices, outbreaks of violence, particularly in the northern and central regions, and attacks against national and international armed forces as well as against humanitarian organisations leading to 287,496 internally displaced persons (as of 30 July 2020)1 concentrated in the northern and central regions (Gao, Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu). The volatile security situation in northern and central Mali, as well as the on-going humanitarian situation, which is being further exacerbated by conflicts and COVID-19 pandemic, continues to negatively affect children’s rights and welfare and increase their vulnerability and protection risks. Based on the July revised humanitarian response plan (HRP), 1.2 million children (an increase of 17 per cent in the number of children in need in early 2020) are in need of protection services, of whom 283,222 have been targeted to receive a response with the support of the Child Protection Sub-Cluster. Estimates from the March 2020 Harmonized Framework (pre-COVID-19) anticipated that 5 million people1 could be food insecure during the lean season in 2020 (June-August)2. , of which more than 1.3 million severely food insecure- an increase of 107 per cent compared to the lean season 2019. In the context of the shocks associated with conflicts and drought and considering vulnerabilities induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated number of people who could be affected by severe food insecurity during the lean season is revised upwards - between 2 and 2.7 million people3. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nutrition Cluster has revised the estimated number of children 6-59 month expected with severe acute malnutrition, from 166,000 to 188,000 nationwide (an increase of 13% compared to initial 2020 estimates). As of 30th August, 2,773 coronavirus cases have been recorded in nine regions (out of 10) as well as in the district of Bamako since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic in Mali in March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the death of 126 persons (fatality rate 4.5 per cent). The district of Bamako concentrates the majority of the cases (49.2 per cent) followed by the regions of Tombouctou and Mopti with respectively 20,6 per cent and 9.1 per cent. UNICEF, in collaboration with WHO and partners, is actively supporting the Government of Mali to implement the national response plan and is engaged in activities across all priority 1 129,874 people are in Phase 4 ; 1,210,867 in Phase 3 and 3,654,887 in Phase 4. 2 Note de plaidoyer : Clusters Sécurité Alimentaire, Nutrition & Protection, Mali, Juin 2020 https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/ru/op%C3%A9rations/mali/document/mali-note-de-plaidoyer-en-faveur-dune-r%C3%A9ponse-coordonn%C3%A9e-et- mise-%C3%A0-l%C3%A9chelle 3 idid 2 areas including risk communication and community engagement, hygiene reinforcement in health facilities and communities, support to continuity of preventive and curative health and nutrition services, infection prevention, Infection Prevention and control (IPC) support, and support to access to education. In accordance with the measures taken by the Government, schools have remained closed since March 2020, except for classes due to sit examinations, which reopened in June, but reclosed due to the August 18, 2020 military Coup d’Etat. School closures are affecting the right to education for 3.8 million children. In addition, Mali, is facing a polio epidemic, as confirmed by the detection of 2 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Menaka region in April 2020. Faced with the high risk of the virus spreading, the Government of Mali and Global Polio Eradication Initiative Partners (WHO, UNICEF, BMGF,GAVI) are planning an immunization campaign in the regions of Gao and Menaka in August 2020 which will target 228,483 children (192,551 in Gao and 35,932 in Menaka). Summary Analysis of Programme Response Nutrition From January to August 31, 2020, a total of 88,146 (including 13,337 in August) cases of severe malnutrition were treated representing about 47% of the 188,053-caseload expected in 2020. These admissions are slightly higher compared to the same period in 2019 (84,146) with an increase in admissions in the north (Gao, Menaka, Taoudéni) and the center of the country (Segou and Mopti). 892,846 under five children were screened during the seasonal malaria prevention integrated mass campaign conducted in July 2019 and 7,934 caregivers of children were reached with infant and young child feeding counselling. All these results were obtained thanks to the partnership between UNICEF, the Government and the NGOs ( COOPI, ACTED, IMC, ALIMA, IEDA RELIEF) in particular in the north and the Center hard to reach regions, with an integrated package (Infant and Young Child Feeding, Vitamin A supplementation, Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition) to prevent and treat acute malnutrition taking account the COVID 19 context. All these activities targeted host population and Internal Displaced Population (IDPs). Furthermore, in the context of COVID 19, the preparation of the Nutrition SMART survey is ongoing. Health As of August 18, 2020, the Minister of Health and Social Affairs declared through the letter No.001847 MSAS-SG an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2). In the reporting period (August 2020), 2 cases of (cVDPV2) were confirmed in the north region (Menaka) and some 8 other cases were isolated from two environmental surveillance sites (commune 1 and commune 4) in Bamako district. The first round of the response activities has been planned to be implemented for one month (18th August to 21rst September 2020) in the Gao and Menaka regions. The response include : i) organization of National coordination meetings, ii) holding of two joint coordination meetings with Niger and Benin to synchronize the response activities, iii) recruitment, briefing and deployment of 12 Immunization staffs (3 International Consultants and 9 nationals), iv) regular update of Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs) dashboard, v) adaption of tools and data of the campaign, Development of communication plan.