Our plan in Mali

Plan is working at the grassroots level in Mali to help communities make real and lasting change, so that their children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Plan began working in Mali in 1976 during the Sahelian drought and famine.  Whilst Plan's programs initially focused on emergency response to the drought, they have more recently moved towards a long-term focus of community development and aim to address the following issues affecting children:

• High mortality rate amongst children and mothers
• Poor quality primary education
• Low protection of children against excision, child labour and trafficking
• Lack of birth certificates among children and youths
• Obstacles to childrenâ#€#™#s participation in decision-making and in exercising of their rights due to conflicting socio-cultural traditions
• Low income level of Malian households

Plan's programs and strategies to address these issues include:

Child and maternal health

Mali children and mothers experience a high mortality rate as a result of poor health services and diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea, malnutrition and HIV and AIDS.  Plan Mali assists provision of malaria and HIV and AIDS prevention equipment and training, financial and technical help to improve community-based health services, while also helping to promote and construct safe water and sanitary conditions.

Education

Plan Mali works to assist early childhood care and development programs, improving primary education, informal learning and also overall literacy in Malian adults, particularly women.

Child rights, participation and recognition

Plan has identified a lack of protection of children against child labour and trafficking in Mali, together with low involvement of children in decision-making processes.  Plan Mali supports community awareness programs to protect child rights, birth registration programs and facilitation of child involvement in community planning and development.

Economic independence of women

Many Malian households experience a very low level of income (less than US$1 per day) as a result of agricultural insecurity, poor financial and saving practices and a lack of financial and technical support from community-based and communal organisations.  Plan Mali assists the poorest households with food production and income-diversification activities, by facilitating access to credit and loans and building the capacity of community-based organisations.

Country Facts

Country	Mali	Australia
Flag
Population	13.1 Million	21 Million
Language	French	English
Capital	Bamako	Canberra
GDP per capita (USD/year)	371	$37,300
Life expectancy	48.1	81.5
Access to safe drinking water	50%	100%
Literacy	19%	100%
Source:	United Nations: Millennium Development Goals Report 2006