UN Relief Chief Fletcher Visits Mali for Three Days: Calls in Gao as More Than 5 Million People Need Humanitarian Aid
New York — Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is in Mali on a three-day visit that began on November 9. A release distributed by APO Group on behalf of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on November 10 set out the visit and its meetings.
Visit programme
While in the country, Fletcher will meet with government officials, humanitarian partners and people affected by the crisis to discuss humanitarian needs and response.
On November 9, Fletcher held talks with Abdoulaye Diop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Colonel Assa Badiallo Touré, the Minister of Health and Social Development. The release said the talks covered shared commitments to strengthening their partnership to support the delivery of life-saving assistance, as well as development and anticipatory action.
Programme on November 10
On November 10, Fletcher visited Gao, in the northeast of the country. He met with displaced families, humanitarian and development partners and visited climate change-related projects funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
Scale of need
The release said more than 5 million people across the country, or one in five people, need humanitarian assistance this year.
It said insecurity, climate shocks and displacement continue to push vulnerable families to the brink. The release gave no figure for new funding arising from the visit.
(Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联合国主管人道主义事务的副秘书长 Tom Fletcher。照片：CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
