Quarter of Mali's Population Faces Food Insecurity, UN Says

(Bloomberg) -- A quarter of Mali’s population is facing food insecurity, while inter-communal conflicts in the center of the country have forced a surge of people to flee to neighboring Burkina Faso this year, according to the United Nations.

About 4.3 million people need assistance, including 274,000 children who face acute malnutrition, the UN said in an emailed statement. Less than 6 percent of the $103 million needed to address the food crisis has so far been disbursed.

Between mid-February to May, clashes between different ethnic communities in the central Mopti region prompted 3,000 people to cross the border to Burkina Faso, according to the statement. About 137,000 refugees from Mali currently live in neighboring countries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pauline Bax in Johannesburg at pbax@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Renee Bonorchis

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