Sat Oct 12 08:20:00 UTC 2024: ## MSF Responds to Devastating Floods in Mali
**Bamako, Mali – October 5, 2024** – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is providing emergency aid to victims of severe flooding in Mali. Torrential rains have caused unprecedented flooding in the Ténenkou, Douentza, and Bankass regions, displacing thousands of people and leaving many without homes or belongings.
The floods, which have reached levels not seen since 1966, have inundated entire towns, including Ténenkou, where the levees failed to prevent the town from being completely submerged. This has led to contamination of drinking water and a heightened risk of epidemics, waterborne diseases, and malaria.
“Families have lost everything,” says Paul Solomon Okech, MSF project coordinator in Douentza. “They are living in schools or sleeping on the ground in the open air.”
MSF teams are providing essential items like blankets and mats to those affected, and have mobilized medical and logistical teams to assess the damage and offer support. They are also stepping up medical care for flood-related illnesses and implementing prevention measures, including awareness-raising activities and providing access to clean drinking water.
“We have begun providing temporary support to the Ténenkou central health center and the Dalla health center in Douentza to care for victims,” says Gamba Felicite Chantal, MSF medical coordinator in Mali. “We are also running mobile clinics at sites where displaced people have gathered.”
The Malian government has declared a state of national disaster and appealed for international support.
MSF is urging other humanitarian organizations to provide further assistance, including food, shelter, and protection. With more heavy rains expected, the situation is likely to worsen.
“The struggle of healing under poor living conditions continues,” says Okech. “We need your support to help us provide lifesaving care.”
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