Elyx arrives today in Mali, a landlocked republic in Western Africa, whose richness in history and culture is quite remarkable.
WFP staff warmly welcomes the UN digital ambassador at the capital’s airport, in Bamako. Elyx learns about the challenges faced by this country in terms of food security: even in peaceful years, malnutrition rates in Mali are among the world’s highest and about 3 million people are constantly at risk of being unable to feed themselves. However, Elyx sees that WFP, active there since 1964, is doing a wonderful job to help locals. As colleagues tell Elyx, in 2015, WFP has launched a three-year relief and recovery operation in Mali to address the immediate food security and nutrition needs, while also strengthening communities’ resilience. Main activities include providing emergency food, supporting the creation and rehabilitation of livelihood assets, preventing and treating malnutrition, and school feeding which aims to both reduce malnutrition and improve access to education. Elyx is also told that through the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative, WFP sources around one-third of the food it purchases locally from smallholder farmers in the country.
Elyx with one of its WFP colleagues! (Photo credit: WFP/ Gaoussou Traore).
Elyx assists to the landing of an aircraft of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS). In a country where distances are long and road conditions and security poor, UNHAS carries food and aid workers to deliver aid to remote areas. Elyx is delighted to learn that!
It is now time for Elyx to thank WFP colleagues and say au revoir to Mali!
More Photos from Elyx’s 70 Day Journey (Full Flickr Gallery)
Learn more about the United Nations in Mali
Permanent mission of Mali to the UN
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)
UNESCO in Mali
WFP in Mali
UNHAS in Mali
More Photos from Elyx’s 70 Day Journey (Full Flickr Gallery)