Mali Appeal

In 2025, Mali’s humanitarian crisis further deepened amid persistent conflict, climate shocks (droughts and floods) and political instability, including the dissolution of all political parties. The country also withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to form the Confederation of Sahel States with Burkina Faso and the Niger. The security situation in Mali remains highly volatile. Evolving armed-group tactics increasingly target civilians, industrial infrastructure and major trade routes, constraining humanitarian access and disrupting supply chains. The expanded use of drones and the spread of violence into southern regions – particularly Sikasso and Kayes – disrupted routes from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, which in turn limited humanitarian access and supply chains. These dynamics also caused fuel shortages, blocked roads, rising prices and frequent power outages, ultimately worsening living conditions, straining essential services and heightening social tensions and political uncertainty. In addition, armed clashes and violence have driven a slight increase in the number of internally displaced people, who now number about 415,000, mainly in Gao, Ménaka and Mopti regions, with children accounting for up to 58 per cent of those internally displaced. At the same time, the number of refugee arrivals from Burkina Faso continued to rise, with more than 51,000 newly arrived Burkinabe refugees recorded in Koro, Bandiagara Region, between April and September 2025. Mali, with a Children’s Climate Risk Index of 7.3, is among the 10 countries in the region most affected by climate shocks, impacting children and their families. 

The combined effects of ongoing crises have left about 5.9 million people – approximately 27 per cent of the population in Mali – requiring humanitarian assistance, 54 per cent of whom are children. In 2026, about 1.4 million people will need nutrition assistance, including nearly 391,000 children experiencing severe wasting. The health system is overstretched, leaving more than 2 million vulnerable people in critical need of heath care. Among them, 414,071 pregnant women and 1,022,706 children under 5 years of age are exposed to preventable diseases amid outbreaks of diphtheria, dengue, meningitis and measles. WASH needs remain critical, with more than 3.3 million people needing assistance in 2026. More than 2,320 school closures have disrupted education for 696,000 children and affected 13,920 teachers. In 2026, nearly 2 million children will require education support. Conflict has led to child rights violations, including recruitment and use, abduction, rape and others grave violations. More than 600 grave violations were verified through the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism. More than 2 million children require protection services. In addition, children face broader protection risks, including the use explosive weapons in populated areas and increasing psychosocial distress, as well as the risk of becoming unaccompanied or separated. Gender-based violence persists, with an estimated 961,367 people in need of assistance in 2026. And people with disabilities face risks of violence compounded by barriers to accessing protection services and assistance. 

Urgent, well-resourced action and coordination are needed to protect children and families, as chronic underfunding and insecurity-driven access constraints continue to hinder the delivery of life-saving assistance.

Amid increasing humanitarian needs and reduced aid, and in line with the humanitarian reset, UNICEF is contributing to building a more responsive, agile, efficient and people-centred humanitarian response in Mali. UNICEF's appeal for Mali aligns with the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. UNICEF focuses on life-saving actions – including child protection and education in emergencies – to assist people in the most affected areas falling within the HNRP’s scope and in additional districts. Despite funding constraints, UNICEF remains dedicated to assessing and meeting children's real needs by strengthening humanitarian assessments, mobilizing resources, streamlining resources and integrating humanitarian, development and peace efforts to safeguard response effectiveness and strengthen resilience and social cohesion.

UNICEF’s strategies include enhancing emergency preparedness and response by reinforcing national and local capacities, supporting humanitarian planning tools (e.g., the Multi-Hazard National Contingency Plan and the National Flood Plan), adopting anticipatory measures (including adaptative social protection) and improving supply chains. Collaboration with local and national authorities, other United Nations organizations, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders will strengthen coordination, especially in southern regions impacted by crisis spillover. UNICEF will deploy an adaptive access strategy combining localization, real-time digital monitoring and an agile field presence to maintain life-saving services in hard-to-reach areas (e.g., Kidal).

UNICEF will strenghen its multisectoral, integrated and conflict-sensitive approach to meet urgent needs, while fostering early recovery, resilience and social cohesion. UNICEF's nutrition strategy will focus on expanding prevention and treatment of malnutrition, ensuring early detection and referral for at-risk children and integrating infant and young child feeding counselling into health and community services. Health interventions will bridge gaps in remote areas through mobile clinics and community health workers and reinforce epidemic preparedness and response. UNICEF will promote equitable access to climate-resilient WASH services and community-driven WASH solutions, encouraging active participation of adolescents and young people to improve access and reduce disease andmalnutrition risks. UNICEF will support formal and non-formal education; provide alternative learning opportunities such as accelerated programmes, community-based learning and distance education; and strengthen capacity for education in emergencies and disaster risk reduction. Child protection interventions will reinforce community-based mechanisms; improve case management and mental health and psychosocial support services; ensure safe family reunification; prioritize prevention of and response to gender-based violence; support explosive ordnance risk education; and provide confidential reporting pathways for sexual exploitation and abuse. Additionally, in 2026, UNICEF will work with local and national authorities to strengthen Mali's social protection system, notably through the country's Unified Social Registry. By integrating humanitarian action within Mali’s national social protection framework, UNICEF and national authorities will improve their capacity to reach more vulnerable households with social assistance, including in conflict-affected areas.

Despite changes in the humanitarian system, UNICEF will continue leading the WASH, education and nutrition clusters in Mali, positioning itself as a critical actor to safeguard children’s rights and support the 2026 Humanitarian Programme Cycle. UNICEF is also collaborating with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to strengthen Protection Cluster coordination and will co-lead, with the Humanitarian Coordinator, the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism. 

UNICEF will implement an acountability to affected populations strategy with United Nations partners to foster transparency and community involvement, while maintaining zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.