In under a decade — in 2012, 2020 and 2021 — the West African country of Mali experienced three violent coups d’état that have left the country in a state of crisis. As the United States Institute of Peace states, the country is located in “a volatile part of West Africa,” in which transnational, Islamic terrorist groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda operate. Between December 2019 and August 2020, Human Rights Watch found that Malian security forces were implicated in more than 250 unlawful killings of civilians. In 2019, USAID estimated that 49% of Malians lived in extreme poverty, and with the high levels of political instability that continue to wrack the country, Mali’s most vulnerable often rely on the support of the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Below are five of the most important NGOs in Mali working to alleviate poverty and protect and support Mali’s most vulnerable.

1. British Red Cross

As one of the most long-standing NGOs in Mali and the Sahel Region, with its work in the country dating back to 1963, the British Red Cross is “a global network of volunteers, responding to natural disasters, conflicts and individual emergencies.” One of the main ways the British Red Cross supports poverty-stricken Malians is through cash grants. By giving people cash instead of goods, the British Red Cross argues that those families in poverty have the choice to spend their money on what best meets their needs, thus protecting their dignity and their right to make their own decisions that affect their lives.

2. WaterAid

Out of a population of 20.2 million, around 3.5 million Malians lack access to clean water. WaterAid also estimates that around 4,000 children under 5 die each year from diarrhea, a direct consequence of dirty water and poor sanitation resources — around 11 million Malians do not have access to a decent toilet. While the Malian Government has in theory committed to providing everyone in the country with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene by 2030, the fragile political environment has left a lot of the necessary work to NGOs in Mali.

WaterAid is one of the most important of these NGOs, working directly within Mali to resolve conflicts around water use, promoting good hygiene through art and storytelling, and sharing innovative, low-cost technologies with nomadic groups to promote greater access to clean water.

3. Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger is a U.K.-based NGO operating in 55 countries. In 2022, its life-saving programs reached 28 million people around the world. It delivers life-saving care to those impacted by life-threatening hunger worldwide and leads research into how to predict, prevent and treat life-threatening hunger among the world’s poorest. 

Action Against Hunger has been operating in Mali since 1995. In 2022, the NGO had 156 employees working to combat life-threatening hunger in Mali, reaching more than 210,000 of Mali’s most vulnerable. The NGO supports Mali’s communities by helping to build resilience to periods of food shortages, training health workers in Mali to screen and treat children under the age of 5 for malnutrition, improving access to clean water and sanitation, and running mental health support groups.

4. Penny Appeal

Another one of the key NGOs in Mali working to provide poverty relief is Penny Appeal. The NGO works across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with key programs dedicated to helping the world’s poor, such as building wells, caring for orphans, providing nutritious food to combat malnutrition and delivering emergency aid in response to national crises.

5. Peace One Day Mali (POD-Mali)

Founded in 2011, POD-Mali works to help Mali’s poorest and most vulnerable such as education, peacebuilding, child protection, gender-based violence, women and youth support, health care, nutrition, food security and human rights. POD-Mali is a particularly important NGO in the wake of the 2020 and 2021 coups d’état, as they work to provide humanitarian assistance to children affected by war and conflicts, with an emphasis on psychosocial support, food, clothes, health care, nutrition and education.

The work of these NGOs in Mali has improved the lives of thousands of the country’s poorest. With little governmental stability or public trust in the state, the work of these NGOs is crucial to the continued fight against extreme poverty in the country. 

– Eleanor Lomas
Photo: Flickr