Mali
The opening of the CECI offices in Mali in 1984 coincided with one of the worst droughts the country has known. At the same time, the country was grappling with low-level democratization and insufficient guarantees of freedom of the press, freedom of association, and other individual and collective freedoms. CECI’s initial activities thus focused on humanitarian aid, human rights, and citizenship in the following areas:
- governance
- gender
- fundamental human rights
- community health
- economic and social development
As the context evolved, CECI shifted its focus to capacity building for its partners, particularly as regards the creation, advocacy, and implementation of development policies that emphasize respect for fundamental human rights and legal equality. The goals of the programs and initiatives implemented during the last decade have been to:
- highlight the importance of human rights
- support and strengthen democracy and empower women
- improve the health care system
- develop the shea butter industry as well as social and solidarity economy policies
Context
Mali is a country whose economy is essentially based on natural resources, mainly agriculture, forestry, and husbandry. These resources constitute the basis for rural development. However, they are currently highly threatened by depletion of land and biodiversity due to the intense pressures exerted by human activities and desertification.
Mali enjoys a great potential for economic development based on irrigated agricultural production. Two major rivers, the Niger and the Senegal, traverse the country. Mali’s mean annual economic growth rate from 2002 to 2008 was 5.1%, while the IMF predicts a rate of 4.0% for 2009. The environmental situation is worrisome and characterized by the accelerated depletion of natural resources and ecosystems.
In terms of gender equality, Mali has taken a meaningful step by developing a national gender equality policy and a new code of the person and the family. Civil society comprises numerous organizations with low levels of institutional capacity, particularly as regards policy analysis and participation in policy development. The population of Mali is essentially rural (over 80%), but a rural exodus is swelling the populations of the cities. Access to education remains generally insufficient in terms of both quantity and quality.
Challenges
The main challenges facing Mali in the short, medium, and long run are as follows:
- poverty: the Malian Observatory of Sustainable Human Development and Poverty Reduction estimated that in 1998, 71.6% of the population was living under the poverty line (103,000 CFA francs), or 78% in rural areas
- fragile food security, which is strongly contingent on climate variability and high demographic growth
- insufficient access to basic social services (health, drinking water, education)
- low levels of adult literacy
- worsening unemployment, underemployment, and the rural exodus
- an embryonic manufacturing and industrial sector
- the remoteness and relative inaccessibility of agricultural areas and the lack of collective infrastructure
Priorities
Recent years have seen a consolidation of gains and innovations in terms of partnership:
- the classic volunteer cooperation program has given way to the Uniterra program, which is based on contacts and networking between Northern and Southern partners, but also between Global South partners from different countries;
- the programming focus is essentially on economic development and community health;
- a new approach to volunteer work, known as Leave for Change, is being implemented in partnership with WUSC , making it possible to expand capacity building activities to the most disadvantaged social strata.
In the years to come, CECI’s work in Mali will strive to:
- solidify strategic partnership relations between Malian and Canadian civil society organizations;
- consolidate gains in accordance with the Strategic Framework for Growth and Poverty Reduction in the following strategic sectors:
- economic development
- the social and solidarity economy (networking, shea butter, rice)
- community health
- gender equality
- economic sector development
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- training tools used by community health associations, taking account of all the stakeholders involved
- the production of the Mali food guide
In collaboration with Mali’s Agricultural Competitiveness and Diversification Program, CECI has developed standard technical and economic methods in agroforestry and horticulture, including the use of highly cost-effective micro-irrigation techniques, which are currently being disseminated throughout all the regions covered by this program.
Our support for the shea butter industry has made possible the building of a shea butter centre in Siby. By improving the quality of the butter and processing it into a line of cosmetics (soaps and creams), the producers have added value and gained access to both domestic supermarkets and boutiques in Western countries.
Social and solidarity economy
CECI supports the National Social and Solidarity Economy Network in devising a development strategy for social and solidarity economy enterprises. In the coming years, this support will primarily take the form of solidarity financing and development of a national social and solidarity economy policy for Mali.
Community health and nutrition
In collaboration with the National Federation of Community Health Associations and the National Health Department, CECI supports the harmonization of:
Gender equality
CECI supports capacity building for Malian women’s networks and associations. Today, following the lead of the Malian Women’s Rights and Citizenship group, they are taking the lead on important files related to women’s rights. In collaboration with the women’s associations, CECI has developed a pictorial kit used in several projects and programs as a method of gender equality sensitization.
In 2008, the Ministry of the Status of Women, Children, and the Family singled out for recognition CECI’s contribution to the economic, social, and legal promotion of Malian women. The Ministry is currently receiving support for its ongoing development of a national gender equality policy.
Below are the projects led by CECI in this country.
