CERF allocates $4.3 million to drought-affected populations in Mali

CERF has allocated $4.3 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WFP) to assist drought victims in the most at risk parts of the city of Kidal and its periphery.

UNICEF will use $4 million to provide a reliable drinking water supply system, for example, by rehabilitating the existing water supply network and constructing two pumping/distribution stations, to approximately 15,000 vulnerable people in Kidal. In addition, WFP will use $300,000 to improve access to water for livestock affected due to biomass shortage and provide food to over 10,100 people in the same region.

Over the last couple of years, Mali has experienced falling levels of agricultural production as a direct result of diminishing rainfall. Ironically, while the majority of the country has experienced heavy rainfall with some flashfloods, the region of Kidal saw very limited rainfall over the course of 2009. As a result, plummeting water tables are causing a serious risk of drinking water shortages. The current supply of drinking water in the Kidal Region is of high concern to the Government of Mali.