The latest UN report on the situation in Mali states that at least 175 boys between the ages of 12 and 18 have been recruited into armed groups, and since March at least eight girls have been raped, while two teenagers have been killed by landmines and unexploded cannon shells. in the report of the UN Organization for Children and Youth (UNICEF).
UNICEF spokeswoman Marišija Mercado said that 300.000 children are at risk due to the closure of schools in Mali, which is why they are more exposed to violence and recruitment into armed formations.
"These figures are cause for alarm, especially as they represent only a partial picture of the situation of children in the north (of Mali), where access to aid workers is limited," Mercado told reporters at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva.
The spokesman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid, Jens Lerke, stated that hospital officials from the city of Gao in northern Mali reported 24 cases of cholera to UN officials yesterday.
Cholera - a disease of dirty hands, is spreading rapidly in Mali due to poor hygienic conditions and destroyed infrastructure. It is caused by bacteria in water or food.
This vicious disease can cause death in just a few hours, through dehydration. But if it is diagnosed in time, it is easily treated.
Lerke pointed out today that his agency is "extremely concerned" about the situation in Mali because international humanitarians have limited access and cannot provide water supply and hygiene, which increases the possibility of an even faster spread of the disease.
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