Mali is a vast, land-locked country in the heart of the Sahel region. With social indicators among the lowest in the world, the country ranks 188 out of 193 on UNDP’s 2022 Human Development Index and faces serious challenges in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger and improved nutrition.

The cumulative effects of frequent drought, armed violence and widespread insecurity have contributed to a progressive deterioration of livelihoods in the country.

Agriculture – mainly in the form of subsistence production – represents 80 percent of employment. However, land degradation, lack of fertilizers, post-harvest losses due to poor storage and processing capacity, and limited access to markets contribute to smallholder farmers suffering from higher-than-average poverty rates. 

Northern and central regions of Mali are grappling with high levels of hunger as the

country strains under the impact of conflict, high food prices, energy challenges, and the climate crisis. Some 1.3 million people face acute food insecurity – including 2,570 people hit by catastrophic hunger (IPC phase 5),

As of December 2023, Mali hosted nearly 355,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to violence. More than half of IDPs (58 percent) are children for whom humanitarian food assistance is a lifeline.

Food prices are high and could reach peaks well above the five-year average. This will push nutritious meals out of reach for the most vulnerable families. Food and fuel price rises are driven by a combination of ECOWAS sanctions in 2022, the lingering impact of the pandemic, and the ripple effect of the conflict in Ukraine.

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What the World Food Programme is doing in Mali

Crisis response
WFP reaches shock and crisis-affected populations with food or cash emergency assistance to save lives and protect livelihoods. WFP responds to large-scale crises, mainly linked to climate and conflict, but also to seasonal shocks.
School feeding
WFP supports the Government’s National School Meal Programme by providing nutritious school meals and reinforcing the capacities of national counterparts. The provision of school meals improves access to education, enhancing learning and avoiding marginalization, especially for young girls.
Nutrition
WFP provides supplementary feeding and other nutrition support to several vulnerable groups, including underweight children suffering from chronic and moderate-to-acute malnutrition, and children under 5 who are acutely malnourished. WFP also provides nutrition assistance to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as supporting nutrition awareness activities at the community level.
Resilience
In a country where humanitarian and development agendas increasingly intersect, WFP is scaling up complement long-term programmes that reduces the need for a humanitarian response. This integrated approach to resilience includes the creation of assets (roads, dams and water ponds) alongside school feeding and nutrition activities in the same communities over a defined period of time.
Capacity strengthening
WFP provides a package of capacity-strengthening support to national institutions and entities in analysis, planning, coordination, policy coherence, implementation and monitoring. The development of capacities in these areas is key to sustaining improvements in well-being achieved through other activities.
Logistics
Due to long distances, poor road conditions and security constraints in central and northern Mali, the WFP- managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) plays a key role in facilitating access to vulnerable populations by the humanitarian community. air transport plays a key role.

Publications

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In focus

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Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Mali is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
Belgium Denmark Finland Mali Republic of Korea

Operations in Mali

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Contacts

Office

Badalabougou Est, Rue 31, Porte 26 – BP120 – Bamako – Mali
Bamako
Mali

Phone
+223 20 79 20 45
Fax
+223 222 6865
Email
wfp.bamako@wfp.org
For media inquiries
mali.communication@wfp.org
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