The U.N. refugee agency on Friday launched an urgent cash appeal to help thousands uprooted by clashes in Mali, saying that the emergency there had been “overlooked.” “This is now an emergency that is six months old and yet we have received only 13 percent of the funds” needed, said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Andre Mahecic. “The situation in Mali has been overlooked.” The UNHCR said it needs $153.7 million (146 million euros) to help 300,000 Malians displaced by conflict in the north of the country. In the past four weeks about 20,000 Malians have crossed into neighboring countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso, and more than 450 people are entering Mauritania every day. Mahecic said the situation was already serious but could soon become “dramatic” because of a lack of water, with refugees forced to survive on just 10 liters of water a day-half the standard ration. Wells are being dug by the agency but are drying up within three months, forcing the UNHCR into the costly alternative of transporting water to distant refugee camps.
