People of Mali Suffer from Hunger, IMF Decides to Help
For many months only Russia has been sending grain and fertilizer to this West African country. Now the International Monetary Fund also noticed the problem and announced emergency funding
A terrible drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon is threatening to starve millions of people in Mali. For months, Russia alone has been sending humanitarian aid – from wheat to chemical fertilizers – to this and several other West African countries. After a series of appeals from Malian authorities and interim President Assimi Goïta, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also noticed the problem and on April 30 announced “an emergency loan of $120 million.”
Under the agreement, says the IMF press release, the African country will receive through the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) “a disbursement that would cover expenditures on food supply, access to clean water, health and sanitation facilities, and housing for displaced people.”
“Import costs for essential commodities, such as food and fertilizer, have increased in Mali due to regional financing constraints and recent geopolitical turmoil,” the Fund elaborated, stressing that “the African country’s short-term economic outlook is uncertain due to severe power outages, security concerns, and a larger-than-expected decline in gold production.” After growing by 4.4% in 2023, the IMF estimates that Mali’s real gross domestic product, struggling with growing food shortages, will grow again this year by 3.8 to 4.0 percent.
Malian authorities have severed military and political ties with France amid growing frustration over the lack of progress in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) after a decade of cooperation and have turned to Russia for national security support. As the Politico newspaper wrote, the Russian authorities reorganized the Wagner private military company after the death of its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin seven months ago. One of the groups, known as the African Corps, was sent to carry out special missions in Africa. They “have already forced the Biden administration to withdraw troops from Niger and Chad, while challenging US policies in the Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Libya,” the newspaper emphasized.