Humanitarian Action for Children Mid-year update for Mali July 2013 HEADLINES In the run-up to Presidential elections held on 28 July, UNICEF provided candidates with a brief on the situation of children and women in Mali and facilitated the signature of a memorandum on the respect and promotion of children’s rights in Mali. UNICEF continues to support the resumption of social services in the North by providing material and infrastructure aid for health centres and nutritional units, water networks, schools, and administrative offices. As part of the Back to School initiative for the 2013 – 2014 academic year, UNICEF in collaboration with partners supports 500,000 school-aged children affected by the recent crises get back to the classrooms. Results from the SMART nutrition survey in Gao have highlighted a ‘serious’ nutritional situation. In the next six months, 22,730 children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including 5,461 children with acute severe cases. In support of the cold-chain and to prepare for vaccinations in the next year, UNICEF is providing solar-powered and regular refrigerators to health centres in the North and has rehabilitated the cold room in Mopti. UNICEF is targeting more than 60,000 children under 1 with routine vaccinations and over 307,000 children under 5 for routine measles and polio vaccinations. UNICEF has updated requirements for Humanitarian Action for Children, increasing the overall amount needed by about US$10 million, up to $91.9 million. So far, only 35 per cent of the required funding has been received. At a school in Timbuktu, a teacher helps her students. UNICEF Mali / Dicko / July 2013 UPDATE OF THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION 1 Mali Situation at a Glance Total population (census 2009) 1 14,528,662 Children under 18 (census 2009) 7,453,080 Children Under 5 (census 2009) 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 3 342,033 4 Refugees in Neighbouring countries 174,129 Number of Separated/Unaccompanied Children registered Dec 2012- 1,536 Feb 2013 (verified) 5 (Of which 142 non-accompanied) Number of gender-based violence cases reported (as of 11 July) 1,497 Number of mine/ UXO victims 2012-2013 6 76 1 The National Institute of Statistics undertook a review of the national population in May 2013, based upon growth estimates from the 2009 census – age groups were not disaggregated in this revision. 2Cluster Nutrition, June 2012 CAP, based upon data from the June 2011 SMART survey; 3Population Movement Commission estimates; 25 July. 4UNHCR 16 July. A total number of 46 refugees in Guinea and Togo are included in overall number reported by UNHCR. 5 As a result of verification conducted this month, the number has reduced as of 26 July. 6 40 child victims including 6 child deaths; 17 victims in 2013. Reporting mechanism coordinated with UNMAS and Handicap International. This figure is unchanged from June. During the first half of 2013, Mali has been faced with political instability, sporadic fighting, population displacement, and the effects of a pre-existing food and nutrition crisis. The political and security situation remains volatile, although humanitarian access in the northern regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu has seen gradual improvements over the past few months. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)1 was established by Security Council Resolution 2100 in April and Presidential elections were held on 28 July without incident. Displaced people are starting to return home. Initial reports from UNHCR indicate that 8,148 refugees have returned to the North in the last month. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that up to 137,422 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have also returned home to date. A Protocol d’Accord for the release, transfer and protection of children associated with armed forces and groups to child protection agencies was signed by the Government of Mali and the United Nations, granting improved response capacity to UNICEF related to child protection. UNICEF has been able to establish a sub-office in Gao, a presence in Timbuktu and has conducted missions to Kidal. Despite these advancements, there are still widespread humanitarian needs to be met. There are 342,033 IDPs and 174,129 refugees in neighbouring countries, many living in precarious situations and lacking access to basic services. Over 1.2 million children require educational support, either to enter school for the first time or to go back to school after their studies were interrupted by the crisis. The normal delivery of social services in the North has been limited partially due to a lack of presence of some state authorities, though in recent months some have started to return to northern towns. In urban and rural areas, inadequate infrastructure including office buildings, clinics, transportation, equipment and human resources are also lacking. A monitoring and reporting mechanism for children associated with armed forces and groups needs to be established in the North to ensure appropriate follow-up and support by child protection actors. To improve response in the North, harmonisation of provided assistance and scaling-up of response activities is crucial. These conflict-based needs are all compounded by nearly nationwide crisis-level malnutrition. Estimates indicate 660,000 children will suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of this year, out of which UNICEF has already provided assistance for 93,944 in the South and 18,822 in the North. UNICEF is currently supporting the roll-out of SMART methodology nutrition surveys in all regions of southern Mali, to help guide the response in the South. ADJUSTED PLANNED RESULTS FOR 2013 1 MINUSMA has been asked to support the transitional authorities of Mali in the stabilization of the country and implementation of the transitional roadmap, focusing on major population centres and lines of communication, protecting civilians, human rights monitoring, the creation of conditions for the provision of humanitarian assistance and the return of displaced persons, the extension of State authority and the preparation of free, inclusive and peaceful elections. 2 UNICEF is scaling up its response across all the sectors in Mali, focusing on providing assistance and support for the re-establishment of social services in the North. UNICEF continues to lead Education, Nutrition, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Clusters as well as the Child Protection sub-Cluster and work together with governmental and NGO partners to respond to humanitarian needs. A strategic plan for a national Back-to-School/Go-to-School initiative for the 2013 -14 academic year has been officially launched by the Minister of Education with the support of UNICEF on 25 July 2013. The national initiative targets 800,000 children, of which UNICEF is planning to reach 500,000 affected by the crisis in addition to 1.2 million children out of school prior to the conflict. Limited access and teacher presence coupled with insecurity, particularly in the regions of Gao, Timbuktu, Kidal and northern Mopti has slowed down the re- opening of schools in these regions. UNICEF and partners will accompany the government in facilitating and promoting equitable access to quality education and by implementing a multi-sectoral minimum package that includes teacher training, social mobilisation and the provision of over 403,000 student and teacher manuals on core subjects, like mathematics and language. In addition, and in order to allow crisis affected school-aged children to catch up on lost schooling time, UNICEF and cluster members in support of the Ministry of Education have been instrumental in the facilitation of the organisation of already on-going catch-up classes in the South (additional schooling hours during the week) and North of the country (adjustment of school calendar and prolongation of school year up to 15 October 2013). The UNICEF Nutrition component and Nutrition Cluster have redefined their objectives until the end of 2013 in terms of management of acute malnutrition. The Cluster has taken into account the current geographic coverage of operational partners, the level of funding, existing constraints and risks envisaged by the end of 2013 and estimates that 60 per cent of all under 5 children at risk of acute malnutrition will be reached. This means 395,000 children will be targeted for nutrition interventions, including 270,000 children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and 125,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). UNICEF response activities in the nutrition sector face a number of challenges which are structural in nature and existed before the crisis. These include malnutrition prevention, the need for better training for health workers and better community mobilisation, which are needed to improve the quality and coverage of nutrition. In the coming months, UNICEF is planning to provide support for case management and care for new admissions, including the provision of equipment and supplies in the North. Also planned are capacity-building sessions for State actors and NGO personnel on the National Protocol on the Treatment of Malnutrition. UNICEF continues to provide assistance in the health sector, in particular for prevention of communicable diseases. Nationwide 1.8 million children under the age of 15 are scheduled for vaccination in the next three months, including 70,000 in three communes of Bamako. In addition, UNICEF will provide support to the return of skilled health workers to the North over the coming three months. The WASH Cluster is now targeting 2.6 million people, out of which 1.9 million will be targeted by UNICEF in collaboration with relevant government entities. UNICEF plans to carry out detailed technical diagnostics of 40 water supply networks in primary and secondary cities and begin efforts to restore production capacity, treatment and distribution of water in the North in the coming months.