The U.N. children's fund (UNICEF) said Friday that it is hampered by constrained access and limited funding in Mali and called for "action now" to help the more than 380,000 children who remain out of school in the region. According to UNICEF, the children – aged seven to 15 – remain out of school in insecure regions in northern Mali three months into the new school year and nearly four years since the security situation worsened in that part of the country. "Children in northern Mali know too well the impact of conflict, poverty, and deprivation," UNICEF representative in Mali Fran Equiza said. "Education is their best hope for the future." More than 280 schools, or one in six, in the conflict-affected areas in northern Mali are closed, many of them for the third year in a row, after they were damaged, destroyed, looted, or occupied by the warring parties, UNICEF said. The agency's programs in the country are hindered by constrained access and limited funding. It has received less than a third of the $37 million it needs for its education, protection, health, nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. "The dream of building a better future for Mali's children depends on action now. Better humanitarian access and more resources can't come soon enough for those who have been deprived for so long. Education is their best hope for the future," Equiza said.
