“The humanitarian situation in Mali continues to deteriorate,” said Philippe Lazzarini, Deputy Director of the Coordination and Response Division for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) in a conference of member states at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

OCHA’s report on 22 January 2013 highlighted the increase in humanitarian needs – basic security, water, food, healthcare, and education – particularly in the north of Mali and in areas of fighting, where instability has forced some humanitarian organisations to reduce their activities.

“Humanitarian access to the north, which was already a challenge, has temporarily been further constrained or stopped,” said Lazzarini.

He also stressed that access to some areas, such as Timbuktu, has improved in recent days.

OCHA reported that as of 10 January 2013, there were 144,439 Malians registered in neighbouring countries, such as Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Guinea, and Togo, and an estimated 228,920 internally displaced people.

Since 10 January 2013 and the intervention by the French and Malian military to liberate the north of Mali, an additional 8,429 Malians have fled to neighbouring countries and 3,599 new internally displaced people have been identified.

Lazzarini called for all military and rebel parties to “comply with international humanitarian laws”.

The World Food Program reported that, out of a total of 1.8 million people in northern Mali, 585,000 people are suffering from food insecurity and more than 1.2 million people are at risk.

“85 percent of teachers have been displaced in southern Mali and more than 50,000 school-aged children have been registered in neighbouring countries,” said Ambassador Oumar Daou, Permanent Representative of Mali to the United Nations.

“Terrorist groups have destroyed education and healthcare infrastructure, jeopardising access to education for 560,461 school-aged children in Mali and limiting the access to healthcare,” he added.

OCHA’s Consolidated Appeal Process for Mali in 2013 has requested 370 million dollars, but less than 0.8 percent of the funding has been committed thus far, causing some concern for the future of the humanitarian situation.