UNICEF Mali Situation Report April 2013 HEADLINES • The government of Mali established a Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission on 25 April to address security and governance in the North. • The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted Resolution 2100, approving the establishment of MINUSMA, a 12,640 strong stabilisation force in Mali. The United Nations and humanitarian community are working to determine a path forward regarding integration and humanitarian space. • In Gao and Timbuktu 321 schools have re-opened, bringing over 76,600 students and 1,561 teachers back to the classrooms. This trend has been noted in urban areas and has occurred largely without the timely return of government authorities to the North. • The UNICEF-led WASH Cluster has expressed concern that this cholera season may be worse than in years past. UNICEF continues to provide assistance including hygiene and NFI kits and infrastructure rehabilitation in Kidal, Mopti and Ségou. • The seven children associated with armed groups who were detained on the battlefield in March have been transferred by UNICEF to a permanent centre where they are receiving assistance, including psychosocial support and vocational training. • UNICEF is working together with the government of Mali, WFP and NGOs to launch a SMART nutrition survey in Gao starting 30 April. This is the first such survey in conflict- affected northern Mali since 2011 and will be crucial in determining needs and priorities for nutrition interventions. • To respond to humanitarian needs in Mali, UNICEF requires US $81.9 million for response activities. So far only 25 per cent of the required funding has been received. • France and the European Union will co-chair, in close cooperation with Mali, an international donors’ conference for the development of Mali on 15 May in Brussels. UNICEF - IRC mother and baby tents in Kati, Mali. UNICEF/ Jessica DuPlessis, 29 Apri 2013 For more information on the activities of the Nutrition, Health, Education, Child Protection please visit : http://mali.humanitarianresponse.info/fr For WASH cluster information, please see http://www.washclustermali.org/ 1 SITUATION AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS • The security situation over the past month has remained tense in northern Mali, with periodic clashes between armed forces and groups around Timbuktu and Gao. According to some sources, the restoration of security may be a long and drawn-out process. • With the range of political and security implications, it is crucial that the re-establishment of political and security norms in Mali be done in tandem with the restoration of social services nationwide. • Presidential elections are slated to take place this July. While the restoration of a national government is crucial for Mali’s overall stability, it is important that the international community focuses on support for humanitarian activities during the electoral period and beyond. • With over 173,000 refugees residing in neighboring countries, it is critical to ensure that school-age Malian refugees are provided with accessible, quality educational programming. This month UNICEF along with the Ministry of Education led a mission to Malian refugee camps in Niger (50,000 refugees) and Burkina Faso (49,000 refugees) to look at how best to harmonize educational programming. • UNHCR reports 13,000 school-aged refugee children are registered in Burkina Faso, of which 2,000 are in school, following that country’s curriculum. The Ministry of Education in Mali has no arrangements for the organization of exams for these children, which could cause children to fall behind when they return to school in Mali. The refugee students will receive a certificate of attendance by the Ministry of Education in Burkina Faso. • In Niger, UNHCR reports 5,724 school-aged refugee children registered in camps, of which 4,500 are in school. Both the Malian and Nigerien curriculum are being followed, which is problematic since exams are held at the end of the primary cycle in Niger but not in Mali. The Malian government will provide their middle school curriculum to the Ministry of Education in Niger. This will help Malian children follow their exam schedule and curriculum. • Four new victims of landmines / unexploded ordinances were recorded in April in Timbuktu. Two of the victims were children who succumbed to their injuries. • There have been 462 reported cases of measles with 12 deaths since the start of the recent outbreak that has affected Gao and Kidal. For the same period last year, there were 178 cases and 0 deaths. • The WASH Cluster is concerned that the number of people affected by this year’s cholera season will be significantly greater than previous years ( i.e. 2012, 2011, 2008). Evaluations show that more and more people are collecting water from contaminated surface water sources due to conflict damage, looting, reduced access to spare parts, fuel shortages, and continued prolonged drought - in addition to a year’s absence of qualified water system operators or mechanics and a year’s absence of government technical and institutional support. IDPs in Mopti, Ségou and Bamako continue to put extreme pressure on existing water points. Price increases put basic commodities like soap outside of the reach of the most vulnerable. • The Child Protection sub-Cluster has received reports of children formerly associated with armed groups spontaneously returning to their original communities or other areas. There is a need to strengthen community-based protection mechanisms to prevent and reduce the risk of retaliation or discrimination against these children. • Four humanitarian organizations have issued a statement stating that northern Mali will descend to emergency levels of food insecurity in less than two months if the security situation and humanitarian access to vulnerable communities do not improve. UNICEF continues to monitor the situation closely. Mali: Situation at a Glance Total population (census 2009) 14,528,662 Children under 18 1 7,453,080 Children Under Five 3,114,000 Children Under Five with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 2 210,000 Children Under Five with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) 2 450,000 Internally Displaced Population in Mali as of 21 March 20133 292 648 New Internally Displaced People 3 37,900 Refugees in Neighbouring countries 4 175,221 Number of Separated/ Unaccompanied Children registered Dec 2012- 1,572 Feb 2013 (verification pending) 5 (Of which 142 non-accompanied) Number of mine/ UXO victims 2012-2013 6 69 Children 2010 (proportion of total population); 2Cluster Nutrition, June 2012 – CAP, based upon data from the June 2011 SMART survey; 3Population Movement Commission estimates; Jan – 31 March. 4 A total number of 46 refugees in Guinea and Togo are included in the 175,211 refugees reported by UNHCR 5 This information is being verified and may contain up to 20% of children included twice in the data due to overlap between different partners’ data. 6 36 child victims including 5 child deaths; 12 victims in 2013. UNICEF database to be harmonised with the UNMAS database being established in Mali. For more information on the activities of the Nutrition, Health, Education, Child Protection please visit : http://mali.humanitarianresponse.info/fr For WASH cluster information, please see http://www.washclustermali.org/ 2 UNICEF FUNDING ( in $US as of 18 April 2013) HAC / CAP 2013 % Funding Appeal Sector Received* Unmet requirements requirements needed Nutrition 34,770,000 7,359,928 27,410,072 79% Health 6,741,000 2,872,024 3,868,976 57% WASH 19,159,059 3,857,271 15,301,788 80% Education 7,725,400 3,273,429 4,451,971 58% Child Protection 9,270,708 1,704,876 7,565,832 82% Cluster/Sector Coordination 4,333,096 1,143,564 3,189,532 74% Total allocated 81,999,263 20,211,092 61,788,171 75% Not allocated 1,346,769 Total Received 21,557,861 *The total includes a maximum recovery rate of 7%. The actual recovery rate on contributions will be calculated in accordance with UNICEF Executive Board Decision 2006/7 dated 9 June 2006. INTER-AGENCY COLLABORATION • UNICEF in Mali has partnership agreements with 27 organisations and an additional six organisations that in the pipeline. Since 2012 UNICEF has signed partnership agreements (both development and emergency) amounting to $22.7 million. UNICEF also works with government institutions to finance activities and supplies. • In the last month new funding has been received from governments of Finland, Luxemburg, Poland and Spain. ECHO also provided assistance this month as has the CERF. UNICEF Partner NGOs ACOD, ACF-E, ACTED, Action Mopti, ADDA, Alima-AMCP, AMPDR, ASDAP, AVSF, CARE, ENDA/BNCE, Family Care International, Handicap International, IRC, Jigi, MDM-B, Oxfam-GB, Protos, RECOTRADE, Red Cross France, Save the Children, SAMUSocial, Sini Sanuman, Solidarités International, SNV, Terre des Hommes, Ya-G-Tu. CONFLICT RESPONSE AND RECOVERY • Nutrition data for humanitarian response is reported nationwide and is indicated in the nutrition response table below in the Mali Nutrition Response section. UNICEF & operational partners Sector / Cluster % of % of Sector Indicator UNICEF Cumulative Cluster Cumulative Target Target Target results (#) Target results (#) Achieved Achieved Number of people who received temporary access to potable 1,549,672 199,614 13% 2,000,000 454,567 23% chlorinated water of sufficient quantity WASH Number of people who received access to an 136,000 18,000 13% 250,000 67,317 27% improved potable water source Number of households received a hygiene kit 200,000