Idrissa Ahha is among hundreds of thousands of people who have been forced to flee the conflict in the north of Mali. Photo: ACT Alliance
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is contributing $20,000 to ACT Alliance’s aid for people in Mali who are fleeing armed conflict within the country. ACT intends to give support to 50,000 people who have been internally displaced.
Malians fled their homes after a military coup in March 2012 was followed by the capturing of all the northern regions of Tombouctou, Gao and Kidal by a combined force of the separatist Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamic jihadist Ansar Dine.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that about 380,000 people have left northern Mail since the start of the conflict a year ago, with about 230,000 internally displaced and more than 150,000 who have become refugees in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria.
PWRDF has also noted that the large numbers of refugees are straining resources in host communities, which are still recovering from a region-wide food crisis in 2012. “Water, food, shelter and medical care are needed immediately,” it said in a statement.
While many of the displaced people want to return home, reports of violence and revenge attacks against Tuaregs and Arabs, as well as closed roads and lack of transportation, are obstacles, the UNHCR has warned.
ACT is co-ordinating its efforts with local authorities, other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
To donate to this relief effort:
Online
You can designate your online donation for “Mali.”
By Phone
For credit card donations, contact:
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF,” mark them for “Mali” and send them to:
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2
PWRDF Donations Contact:
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973