Mali has $7.1 million to help it cope with the drought affecting its population. This is the first instalment of climate risk insurance from the African Risk Capacity (ARC).
The first instalment of African Risk Capacity (ARC) is designed to support the people of Mali as they cope with drought. The $7.1 million in funding is part of an insurance mechanism to support the implementation of a national policy and strategy for natural disaster risk management.
The funds will be used for Mali’s partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), under the Replica program. Specifically, the UN organization, which participated in simulation operations with the ARC in 2019 in the Malian capital Bamako, plans direct interventions with the populations most affected by the drought.
An alarming situation since 2012
Thus, WFP will provide cash transfers to 161,000 women, men and children affected by climate shocks. According to ARC, 20,000 children between the ages of 6 and 23 months, as well as pregnant and lactating women will receive nutritional support and services. “The impact of the poor rains is clearly visible in the affected communities and could prove devastating for many families. Cereal production has decreased, and pasture and water for livestock have been reduced, forcing locals to sell their livestock,” says Sally Haydock, WFP’s country director and representative in Mali.
Read also- ZIMBABWE: a $2.5 million insurance policy against drought risk in 2022
WFP also plans to implement programs to strengthen community assets such as pastoral wells, water towers and fish ponds that will help diversify production and livelihoods and reduce the impact of future rainfall deficits. This other initiative is expected to increase the resilience of 23,000 people to drought.
A direct consequence of climate change, this phenomenon accentuates the precariousness caused by the presence of terrorist movements, mainly in the north of the country. Moreover, at the end of 2021, a coalition of 22 non-governmental organizations warned of the impact of the drought on 1.2 million people. In all, since 2012, drought combined with insecurity has resulted in the loss of more than 225,000 hectares of farmland and affected more than 3 million people mainly in Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu, according to Adeline Benita, the director of the Humanitarian Working Group of the International NGO Forum in Mali (FONGIM).
Jean Marie Takouleu
