Mali - IOM has started an evaluation to assess the needs of the displaced population (IDPs), returnees and host communities in 109 villages in the northern part of Mali.

The assessment will evaluate the situation of the population affected following the occupation of the area by armed groups in 2012.  The crisis led to the displacement of more than 517,000 people, including 333,000 IDPs and 175,282 refugees.

The evaluation is an initiative of the Commission on Population Movement (CMP), an IOM-led working group within the Protection Cluster.

The exercise is part of a wider IOM methodology approved by the CMP and constitutes a first step in a comprehensive process to move forward towards a recovery phase for the affected population.

The assessment will be carried out in collaboration with the General Directorate for Civil Protection (DGPC), the National Directorate for Social Development and two local NGOs.

The operation will be conducted in the regions of Gao and Tombouctou, which are currently hosting over 112,000 IDPs and 137,000 returnees, according to an earlier assessment conducted by IOM in June 2013.

The results of the assessments are expected in early November and will allow the Malian government and humanitarian organizations to better address the needs of the population affected by the crisis in the North.

For more information, please contact

Stéphanie Daviot
IOM Mali
Email: sdaviot@iom.int
Tel. +223 90 50 00 09

or

Juliana Quintero
Email: juquintero@iom.int
Tel. + 223 90 50 00 13