On February 4, the Saharawi Red Crescent made an urgent appeal for assistance for 158,000 Saharawi refugees in the south of Algeria. Emergency food supplies will only last until March, the organisation stated, and medical supplies have already run out. Criticising the United Nations bodies responsible for ensuring aid provision to the refugees, the statement said that due to "the delays registered in the humanitarian aid, in addition to its insufficiency, more than 66% of mature women and 68% children under 15 years old suffer from anaemia, in addition to malnutrition for 7.7% of the children".
From Green Left Weekly, February 15, 2006.
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