UN / GING

A top humanitarian official said that Mali is “at a crossroads,” not just from a humanitarian and development standpoint, but also politically, as “it has tragically seen an escalation in conflict in recent months.” UNIFEED - UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:41
• Production Date: 14 November 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA; UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALI - MINUSMA
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL MOVEMENTS; PEACE AND SECURITY; HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; EBOLA
• Geographic Subject: MALI
• MAMS Id: 1242745

Description

STORY: UN / GING
TRT: 2.41
SOURCE: UNIFEED - UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGAUGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 NOVEMBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

14 NOVEMBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, dais
3. Wide shot, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Operations Director for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Mali is at a crossroads in many respects in terms of not just the humanitarian and development situation, but also politically, and it has tragically seen an escalation in conflict in recent months. And we engaged with the UN mission there and understood the challenges that they are facing, having lost 31 peacekeepers over the past year, twenty of them in the last two months.”
5. Med shot, photographer
6. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Operations Director for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Whatever we might do as humanitarians, whatever others might try to do in the meantime, it will never be adequate because you can’t build the potential in the midst of a conflict. Everywhere we went we were called upon, obviously, to raise our voice also for a peaceful resolution of this conflict. And we looked in the first instance, of course, to the government to the leadership of the country to exercise wise leadership now, to have the courage to do the things that are needed to break this cycle that this country has been caught on for far too long.”
7. Med shot, reporters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Operations Director for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Mali is most definitely not at the centre stage of global attention when it comes to fundraising, and yet it’s incredibly important that Mali get the funding that it’s needed, because unlike some other protracted crises, the takeaway we had from Mali is that it is most definitely not a hopeless case in spite of the numerous challenges that if faces, and yet funding is a key here to mobilise a positive dynamic.”
9. Wide shot, dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Afshan Khan, Emergency Director of UNICEF:
“There are two confirmed Ebola deaths in Mali, and there are two cases that are not, these two cases are not related, are from separate strains of transmission. So, there were reported three suspected cases as of last night, and both cases have been associated to the outbreak in Guinea. So UNICEF and WHO are sending out rapid response teams and repositioning supplies and the main objective in Mali is to contain the current cases and also to assess the extent of the transmission.”
11. Wide shot, end of presser

Storyline

A top humanitarian official today (14 Nov) said that Mali is “at a crossroads,” not just from a humanitarian and development standpoint, but also politically, as “it has tragically seen an escalation in conflict in recent months.”

The Operations Director for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging, told reporters in New York that during his recent trip to Mali he met with representatives from the UN mission (MINUSMA) and “understood the challenges that they are facing, having lost 31 peacekeepers over the past year, twenty of them in the last two months.”

Ging said “whatever we might do as humanitarians, whatever others might try to do in the meantime, it will never be adequate because you can’t build the potential in the midst of a conflict.”

He said the Malian government should exercise “wise leadership now, to have the courage to do the things that are needed to break this cycle that this country has been caught on for far too long.”

The humanitarian official acknowledged that “Mali is most definitely not at the centre stage of global attention when it comes to fundraising” but stressed that “it’s incredibly important that Mali get the funding that it’s needed, because unlike some other protracted crises, the takeaway we had from Mali is that it is most definitely not a hopeless case in spite of the numerous challenges that if faces, and yet funding is a key here to mobilise a positive dynamic.”

Ging travelled to Mali with Afshan Khan, Emergency Director of UNICEF, and Emergency Director Mabingue Ngom of UNFPA.

Khan spoke about the two recent confirmed Ebola deaths in Mali, and noted that “these two cases are not related, are from separate strains of transmission” and “both cases have been associated to the outbreak in Guinea.”

She said “UNICEF and WHO are sending out rapid response teams and repositioning supplies and the main objective in Mali is to contain the current cases and also to assess the extent of the transmission.”

Despite initial security improvements in 2013, the situation in Northern Mali has deteriorated since the beginning of this year. An increase in incidents involving improvised explosive devices, mostly targeting Malian and international security forces, has impeded the return to normalcy and resumption of economic and development activities.