A Silent Crisis In Northern Mali As Food Shortages Worsened By Political Stalemate

"While all eyes are on the ongoing political stalemate in Bamako, and the growing radicalism of groups such as Ansar Dine, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and MUJAO (Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa) in the north of Mali, it’s easy to forget that 1.3 million Malians are facing drastic food shortages this year... The malnutrition figures are striking, and could potentially be worse than in other parts of the Sahel. Action Against Hunger, which is working in the north-eastern town of Gao, say that 60 percent of children there are showing signs of malnutrition, 30 percent of those are ‘global acute malnutrition’ and may need medical care. This is twice the level which would ordinarily trigger an emergency response by the aid community – 'amazingly high' as [Action Against Hunger] put it to me."