Mali

In Mali, Switzerland is active in fighting poverty and establishing a lasting peace. It supports local economic development and food security, good governance and the peace process, and basic education and vocational education and training. This support is implemented through its three foreign policy instruments: development cooperation, peace policy and humanitarian aid. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) focuses its activities on the regions of Sikasso in the south, Mopti in the centre and Timbuktu in the north of Mali.

Mali's recent history has been characterised by political crises and multiple conflicts that have led to high levels of violence and insecurity in various parts of the country. Following the confrontations in northern Mali in 2012, the democratic elections in 2013 marked a return to constitutional order and paved the way for the signing of a peace and reconciliation agreement in June 2015. However, discontent over the slow implementation of the agreement, a lack of political inclusion and high levels of corruption prompted a new socio-political crisis in 2020, giving rise to mass protests and culminating in the overthrow of the government.

Mali therefore continues to face numerous challenges: the high level of insecurity has an adverse impact on the country's development, the state lacks the capacity to ensure the safety of its citizens and meet their basic needs, and the young generation faces an uncertain future. The security situation has progressively deteriorated across the entire country; as a result, more than 287,000 people (58% of whom are children) have been forcibly displaced and 2.6 million people are in need of protection.

Yet despite these many challenges, Mali has a remarkable capacity for resilience; it has a strong agro-pastoral potential that should be developed, as well as tremendous human capital. Switzerland supports this potential through its various foreign policy instruments. To supplement this multisectoral approach, the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport and the Federal Department of Justice and Police deploy specialist staff to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). They also support the Alioune Blondin Beye School of Peacekeeping (EMP-ABB) in Bamako.

Rural development and food security

Increased productivity and incomes

People living in rural areas account for over two thirds Mali's population and about one third of its GDP. The SDC supports initiatives that increase agricultural productivity and incomes:

• Public-private partnerships in the food processing industry
• Financial inclusion
• Building the capacities of producers' organisations and inter-municipal associations
• Supporting the national food security system
• Hydro-agricultural improvements

This type of project aims to promote economic growth in rural communes. Switzerland is also helping the Malian government define and implement the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy for the most vulnerable.

Agriculture and food security

Basic education and vocational skills development

Programmes adapted to social challenges

Rates of access to basic education remain very low in Mali. About one million Malian children between the ages of 7 and 12 do not attend school, and half of those enrolled in primary school are forced to drop out. The security and public health crisis has exacerbated this issue, meaning that many pupils sadly missed out on more than a year of schooling. The SDC's educational efforts are focused on improving the quality of education as well as initial and continuing teacher training. In addition, the SDC provides support for the decentralised management of education. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the security crisis, the SDC also promotes education in emergency situations and alternative forms of inclusive education (development of distance learning modules, mobile schools, educational centres with fast-track programmes, training for Koranic school teachers).

The low level of qualification of the workforce is also an obstacle to development. To address this problem, the SDC is helping to set up training programmes designed to meet the needs of the labour market in urban and peri-urban areas. It is also helping to provide better guidance for young people and improve their integration into the labour market. 

Basic education and vocational skills development

Good governance and peace

Empowering local institutions (decentralisation)

Participation of citizens and various social groups in political processes and the accountability of elected officials to voters are key SDC objectives in Mali. The SDC therefore supports citizenship programmes to allow ordinary people to have a voice in public affairs.

The SDC helps strengthen the administrative and financial management capacities of local elected representatives. It supports the transfer of resources to the regions and the mobilisation of resources managed by local authorities. It also supports programmes to combat corruption and impunity. Through the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Switzerland is committed to facilitating the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement as well as promoting inclusion and supporting national reconciliation.

Meeting the needs of displaced populations

Switzerland contributes to the humanitarian response that offers protection and assistance to particularly vulnerable people who had to flee the conflict in northern Mali: internally displaced persons and host populations, as well as refugees in neighbouring countries. In response to the crisis in Mali, the FDFA's Peace and Human Rights Division is promoting the peace dialogue and Swiss Humanitarian Aid is funding partners on the ground, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Contributing to multilateral stabilisation efforts

Switzerland participates in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) by providing civilian and military personnel. This contribution to multilateral efforts to accelerate the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement complements Switzerland's bilateral engagement.

Advocacy and good governance

Partners

Switzerland implements its programme through various partnerships with government institutions, local and international NGOs, and other bilateral and multilateral development partners.