Located in the heart of West Africa, Mali is a vast landlocked country in the Sahel region. The political and social situation improved during the last decade with peaceful democratic elections held since 1992. But the security situation is now volatile, with a coup in March 2012 and armed groups controlling the three northern regions of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. This has caused population movements in the country and into neighbouring countries.
Mali faces significant challenges in key development sectors and is ranked 175th out of 187 countries in the 2011 UNDP Human Development Index (HDI). About 69 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line, and more than one fifth of school-aged children do not attend school, three quarters of whom are girls.
More than 80 percent of the rural population is dependent on subsistence farming and livestock herding. Limited arable land, unpredictable weather, natural disasters (including drought, locust infestations and floods), environmental degradation and fluctuating commodity prices have led to numerous food security and health challenges for these populations.
Children are the most affected by these challenges. The prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition among children under 5 was reported as 15 percent according to the last Demographic and Health Survey in Mali.
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