World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

MADINA SACKO - With an identity card in hand, leaning heavily on his cane, Bine Gori Naman, 82, anxiously awaits his turn to pick up his money.  

 

On behalf of his household, Naman will receive around US$ 50, an amount based on the current value of a monthly food basket for a family of five. He knows exactly how he will spend it. 

 

“I will go straight to the market to buy millet and rice, "he said.  “I have seven people in my family and before this, I did not know how I would support them so they can grow food during the planting season.”

 

Naman is a former Koranic teacher and lives in the town of Madina Sacko.  He lives on the alms of the faithful who are themselves hard hit by drought and have almost completely exhausted their food reserves. 

 

Beneficiaries receive SIM cards; they then receive a text message on this new phone number alerting them of the transaction. Partner NGOs inform the beneficiaries of when and where they can pick up the money. 

 

Funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) at a total cost of more than 1.3 million euros, the cash transfers will reach nearly 45,000 people affected by drought in the regions of Kayes and Koulikoro.

 

Two cash transfers are planned: the one that took place in early June and the second that will take place in July. 

 

This year, WFP and its partners launched a regional response and plan to provide food assistance to more than 9 million people affected by drought in the Sahel which 1.3 million are in Mali.