Mali
Save the Children has implemented programs in Mali since 1987. Our current portfolio includes health programs for newborns, children and mothers; education programs in early childhood development and primary education; and programs addressing children's nutritional needs and families' incomes. All our programs are designed to help Mali achieve its national development plan. Our work takes place in three of Mali's eight regions – Sikasso, Sego, and Gao – with a population of some 4.8 million children and adults.
Challenges for Children
There is a great need and demand for Save the Children’s programs in Mali. Children and their families continue to do without basic social services such as education, health, protection and even national identity or registration at birth. The combination of poor roads and low population density makes implementing any program a logistical challenge. Mali remains one of the world’s poorest countries – ranked 175 out of 177 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index 2006 and, according to Save the Children’s Annual State of the Mother’s 2007 Report, is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a mother or a child.
Numbers at a Glance
- Mali has the sixth-highest under-five mortality rate in the world—238 per 1,000 live births. Nearly one child in four will not survive to see her or his fifth birthday.
- Only 30 percent of pregnant women have the recommended number of prenatal checkups.
- 78 percent of children are not immunized against preventable disease by their first birthday.
- More than 90 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
- Only 45 percent of people in rural areas live in communities with a road that's passable year-round.
- 66 percent of men and 77 percent of women have not attended school.
Our Response
Health: Our health programs increase the quality of and access to community-based health and preventive services for children and women of child-bearing age. We research and pilot strategies to improve services and advocate for their expansion regionally and nationally. Save the Children also strengthens the delivery of basic health care to hard-to-reach families. Mali also is among the countries where we are introducing simple, low-cost interventions that can help save the lives of newborns. Last year, our services reached some 4 million people, including more than 1.7 million children.
School Health and Nutrition: Save the Children delivers school-based health services, such as deworming medicines and vitamin supplements, to children. Children are taught proper hygiene, using new latrines and wells Save the Children has installed at their schools. In the Kolondièba District, we reach children who attend school as well as children who are not enrolled. Last year, we worked in 18 schools to raise students’ awareness of critical health issues including HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy and malaria.
Education: Save the Children increases children’s access to education by building classrooms that meet government standards. This makes schools qualify as public schools and benefit from government support. We build schools in communities in exchange for a commitment from parents and the community to enroll all children. Save the Children also helps small communities manage education in light of decentralization and invest local resources for children’s schooling. We also train teachers and help communities solve teachers’ housing needs. Last year, 101 classrooms were built and equipped in Kolondièba, with a resulting increase in children’s enrollment from 69 to 74 percent. In addition, we built five large wells equipped with hand-pumps and constructed 45 latrines for students.
Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Bank, UNDP
Food Security: During the recent hunger crisis in the north, Save the Children distributed food to some 4,600 households. Supplemental food was provided to 22,500 children under age 5. We are now focusing on helping families reduce their vulnerability to hunger by improving their productivity and farming skills and helping them to manage their assets. In addition, Save the Children set up a food bank and a herd restocking project. We have mobilized and trained local groups – including women's groups – to create market gardens and created "cash-for-work" activities for women. Last year, our food security services benefited over 32,000 people, including nearly 14,000 children.
Democracy and Good Governance: Save the Children seeks to help civic organizations in the Koulikoro Region participate in community management of small village groupings. This helps to build the local capacity so that important activities such as health services, education, management of water resources, improvements to local agriculture and women's literacy groups are sustainable. Last year, our democracy and governance services benefited more than 4 million people, including more than 1.7 million children.
Plans for the Future
Save the Children will continue to concentrate our efforts in rural, poor communities in southern Mali, where 80 percent of the population resides. In education, Save the Children will focus increased attention on revising curricula and enhancing quality in the classroom. With large numbers of children beginning to graduate from the sixth grade, there is an urgent need for the establishment and staffing of grades seven to nine. We will work to close this gap, as it will benefit all children and especially helps to strengthen girls’ education. Although recent surveys show that overall HIV prevalence in Mali is 1.7 percent, high rates in certain populations underscore the importance of continuing our programs. Save the Children also plans to focus on increasing families’ economic activities.
A Success Story
The community of Monzonga is located in an agricultural and pastoral region of Mali, astride the Niger River. Save the Children has worked there since the food crisis of 2005. Zelia, age 12, is among the children benefiting from our work. A fourth-grade student at the local primary school, Zelia received a goat through our herd restocking initiative, which is part of our food security program. But the assistance doesn't stop there. Save the Children's integrated initiatives benefit both her family and her community. According to Zelia, "I know Save the Children also supports my school because they helped us to have a school garden. Today I benefit, as well as my mother and my big sister, who are all members of the market women's association supported by Save the Children in their village. I am going to take really good care of my goat so when she has babies we can sell them to buy supplies during the lean period."
