Results around the world – Mali

Ranked 175th out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2016 Human Development Index, Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world: nearly 45% of its population lives below the national poverty line. Almost 65% of the Malian population is under 25 years of age and 76% lives in rural areas. The country has an illiteracy rate of nearly 66% among adults (78% among women) and the infant and maternal mortality, morbidity and malnutrition rates are among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

The situation of women and girls is characterized by the poor recognition of their rights. Moreover, they face discriminatory social practices and deep inequalities, particularly in terms of access to education, health-care services, economic opportunities and political participation. For example, girls are at higher risk of dropping out of school because of early marriage and pregnancy, among other reasons.

Since 2012, Mali has faced serious governance, security and development challenges that have severely affected its population. Women and girls are among those most affected by the insecurity and conflict.

Canada is among the largest bilateral donors in Mali. Its international assistance to Mali has made it possible to achieve significant results in the fight against poverty and in improving Malians’ living conditions.

Canada’s international assistance focuses on the following action areas:

Key results

In 2017-18:

Canada continued to support Malian policies and programs aimed at improving access to quality reproductive, maternal and child health services. For example, through increased awareness of family planning through the Ouagadougou Partnership, Canada has contributed to increasing the national contraceptive prevalence rate in Mali from 12% in 2014 to 20% in 2017

Canada’s budgetary support to the health sector also helped raise the rate of skilled birth attendance from 26% in 2012 to 32% in 2017.

Canada contributed to improving primary education through teacher training, the establishment of a textbook repair service for Malian schools and support to the country’s 10-year education development program. Canada’s budgetary support to education helped increase primary school enrolment between 2012 and 2017 by more than 288,860 pupils, 46.6% of whom were girls. This represents an increase in the gross national enrollment rate from 60.5% to 66.7%. In addition, 1.7 million school textbooks have been repaired since 2009, representing a saving of nearly $14 million for the Malian government compared to purchasing new textbooks.

Canada has contributed to economic growth in Mali through its support to agricultural production, the marketing of harvested products, the strengthening of cooperative systems and to women’s economic empowerment in rural areas. Between 2014 and 2017, Canada co-funded more than 250 hydro-agricultural infrastructures, which enabled nearly 25,000 farmers, 30% of them women, to have access to irrigated agricultural land. This support will increase the resilience of families and reduce food insecurity. In addition, thanks to Canada’s support to the microfinance sector, nearly 700,000 people, 67% of whom were women, benefited from inclusive financial services such as agricultural credit and crop insurance between 2014 and 2017.

Canada contributed to public financial management, increased accountability of the Government of Mali and the strengthening of the role of civil society. Canada’s support to Mali’s Direction générale des impôts contributed to the increase in the overall tax ratio from 15.7% in 2016 to 16.3% in 2017. Canada also supported Malian civil society in its fight against impunity and corruption. Between 2014 and 2017, more than 900 people were trained to understand, detect and expose the costs of corruption and impunity.

Canada contributed to the prevention of gender-based violence and the promotion of the rights of women and girls by making it easier for them to access justice. Between 2015 and 2018, more than 1,980 people—83% of them women and girls—benefited from legal services, confirming that victims of the crisis in Mali need to have access to the formal justice system. In addition, gender-based violence awareness sessions have reached more than 75,000 people through media channels and public events since 2015.

Working with existing local networks, Canada helped to empower youth, women and other community stakeholders to become active peace ambassadors and to build avenues for constructive engagement between authorities, institutions and citizens for durable peace in the country. Canada also supported 240 women and youth leaders to drive peaceful change in Mali’s conflict-affected regions. Canada supported the involvement of 3,600 local women in peace campaigns, and secured the support of local and national leaders for community development initiatives as well as initiatives that promote  the rights of women and girls.

Through its humanitarian assistance, Canada has provided a multisectoral response that addresses the specific needs of women, girls, men and boys affected by the conflict and drought in Mali Canadian assistance helped to provide food, treatment for acute malnutrition, drinking water, sanitation services, health services (including sexual and reproductive health services), and protection (including support to survivors of sexual violence), and support to livelihoods for vulnerable populations.

Canada also supported UN-led efforts to advance implementation of the peace process and to reform and professionalize the Malian security services. These efforts also helped extend state authority and stabilize conflict-affected regions of the country.

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