PSC/PR/COMM.2(DXLIV) Page 3 of water, which affects both people and livestock, as well as the high rates of acute and severe malnutrition in this part of the country. Council urgently appeals to the international community as a whole for the mobilization of the necessary financial resources to meet the needs of the affected people, noting in this regard that, as of 5 August 2015, only 33% of the required funds had been mobilized. Council expresses appreciation to the neighboring countries hosting Malian refugees for their generosity; 12. Stresses the importance of strengthening the capacity of the Malian defense and security forces, particularly with regard to equipment and training, to enable them to effectively contribute to the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime and to take over, in due course, from the international forces. Council commends the work of the EU Training Mission (EUTM) and urges the EU to enhance its support through the program “Train and Equip”. Council calls on Member States to contribute actively to the defense and security sector reform provided for in the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali; 13. Welcomes the efforts made by the Commission and the countries of the region, within the framework of the Nouakchott Process on the Enhancement of Security Cooperation and the Operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture in the Sahelo-Saharan region. In this regard, Council welcomes the Conclusions of the meeting of Chiefs of Defense Staff and Ministers of Defense of the member countries of the Nouakchott Process, held in Bamako, from 2 to 4 September 2015. Council fully supports the efforts to enhance operational border cooperation, particularly through the systematization of joint patrols and the establishment of mixed units involving military contingents. Council takes note with satisfaction of the Algerian proposal on the establishment in Tessalit, northern Mali, of a regional training and familiarization center for combat in the desert, in support of the member countries of the Nouakchott Process; 14. Takes note of the measures proposed for the possible establishment of an intervention force in northern Mali to combat terrorist and criminal groups, and looks forward to the submission, by the Commission, following the mission to assess the situation and the convening of a meeting of experts to develop a concept of operation, as agreed in Bamako, of a detailed report on the issue, to enable it take the necessary decisions and inform the UN Security Council; 15. Fully supports the measures agreed upon in Bamako to contribute to the strengthening of MINUSMA, including the generation of the equipment required for the African contingents participating in the Mission, the reciprocal secondment of liaison officers, the opening of alternative land supply routes, as well as the exchange of information and intelligence; 16. Reiterates the AU’s full support to the efforts of the member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin to completely neutralize the terrorist group Boko Haram, including through the effective operationalization of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). Council encourages the Commission to continue to work with the LCBC to this end, as