Mali

Country Profile

Picture source: www.cia.gov                

The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in Western Africa, southwest of Algeria and east of Senegal and Mauritania.  In 2002 the population was 11.3 million people with a population growth rate of 2.8%.  There is great ethnic diversity within Mali.  The Manding account for 50% of the population and the other 50% is composed of numerous smaller ethnic groups.  Although each ethnic group speaks a separate language, nearly 80% of Malians communicate in Bambara, the common language of the marketplace. Malians enjoy a relative harmony rare in African states. About 90% of the population is Islamic with the remaining 10% split between indigenous beliefs and Christianity.            

Mali is a multi-party democracy with three branches of government.  The Executive branch consists of the president, who is chief of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, and the prime minister, who is head of government.  The National Assembly is the sole legislative arm of the government.  The judicial branch is embodied by the Supreme Court, which has both judicial and administrative powers.  Mali's legal system is based on codes inherited at independence from France. There are eight administrative regions and a central district; French is the official language.           

Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semi desert. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2000. (3)  The GDP in the 1990’s rose to 3.6 billion dollars (US$) from the 1980’s 0.8 billion dollars (US $).  The annual GNP growth rate was 5.8% in 1998-99. However, Approximately 70% of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1 per day.

In 1994 there were only 4.7 physicians and 13.1 nurses per 100,000 population.  The infant mortality rate is 117 deaths per 1,000 live births and the maternal morality rate is 580 deaths per 100,000 live births.  Immunization rates are low with only 29% of the under 12mth population receiving DPT immunizations and 35% receiving measles immunizations. In 1998 the governmental health program focused attention on increasing infant immunization rates and increasing the proportion of the population with access to primary health care.  As of 1997, 2.2% of the GDP went to public expenditure on health care.           

Tuberculosis is a major public health problem.  Malaria is present year round, especially during the rainy season and Meningitis is endemic, especially in the dry season.  Cholera is reported active and there are highly endemic areas of onchocerciasis along rivers where black flies bread.  Access to improved water and sanitation is low – 37% and 31% respectively.

In Mali, the nutritional status of children under five years of age is extremely worrying. The results of the latest national survey carried out in 1996 show rates vastly above those established by WHO: 11% are wasted (half of them severely wasted), 49% are stunted and 27% have a low weight-for-age. This situation is particularly worrying, as it has not improved over the past ten years. The Demographic and Health Surveys of 1987 and 1995-96 indicate that during this period the malnutrition rates for children under three years of age have practically doubled. There are significant differences at a regional level. The level of energy intake does not seem to reflect the malnutrition rates mentioned above. Indeed, energy intake is higher than these rates would seem to indicate, which means that factors other than food have contributed to malnutrition. Although widespread throughout the country, breast-feeding is not always practiced correctly.           

The greatest micronutrient deficiencies are primarily in Vitamin A and iodine. Although these deficiencies are better documented for some regions than for others, they point to a serious public health problem at the national level. The rate of night blindness (indicative of Vitamin A  deficiency) in children under five was 6.5% in Timboctu and Ségou. Goiter is endemic in most regions, particularly in Ségou, where over 60% of school-aged children are affected. (9)   The national prevalence is 43%. There is no national data for iron deficiency but surveys done on a regional level indicate that about 47% of school age children and 59% of fertile aged women are anemic.  A national policy was adopted in 1998 to address iron deficiency.  There is a national policy on iron supplementation for pregnant women, but no supplementation programs for children or food fortification policy.

The dietary staples are rice and millet, each accounting for 19% of the total daily caloric intake.  Sorghum is almost a widely eaten.  Only 8.7% of the total daily caloric intake comes from animal sources.

1.  http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbpyr.html 

2.  http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/report/ 

3.  http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html 

4.  http://www.measuredhs.com/data/indicators 

5.  http://apps.fao.org/page/collections?subset=nutrition 

6.  http://genderstats.worldbank.org 

7.  http://www.undp.org/hdr2002/indicator/ 

8.  http://www.state.gov 

9.  FAO Nutrition Country Profiles 2001