The international community, said Kollies, “looks at Mali as a problem of terrorism, illegal migration, and so their answer is (to) invest in military deployments, reinforce security. “So money is there, but they have not yet seen investment in humanitarian response and humanitarian action as a stabilising factor.”The OCHA head asked for a better balance in spending, citing the adage that “a hungry man is an angry man”. Feeding people is the first step towards “a situation where mediation is possible and where people can sit around a table and address the root causes of the problem,” Kollies said. About 1.4 million people need health assistance. “Our humanitarian response plan for this year defined 3.2 million people to be in need of assistance,” Kollies said.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 04, 2019 15:00 UTC