Mali
Context
Mali, in West Africa is one of the poorest countries in the world. Two thirds of the country is desert and rainfall is variable and unpredictable. There are few livelihood opportunities, basic services such as water supplies are limited and the risk of HIV/AIDS is high.
Water-related diseases are widespread and child mortality is common, with one in five children dying before their fifth birthday.
Official sources state that half the population has access to safe water. As up to a third of all handpumps are likely to be broken, some estimates say a figure of 27% is more realistic.
64% of the population live below the poverty line.
WaterAid's programme in Mali
WaterAid has been working in Mali since 2000 and collaborates with partners in five of Mali's eight regions.
WaterAid has established communal tapstands in urban areas while rural communities have been helped to deepen and protect hand-dug wells from contamination. Sanitation and hygiene education schemes are also carried out.
WaterAid aims to target the most vulnerable sections of society in Mali, including women, the disabled and the elderly.
What has WaterAid achieved?
- WaterAid has helped nearly 60,000 people gain access to water and sanitation.
- Local centres selling spare parts have been set up to enable communities to repair their own water and sanitation facilities.
- WaterAid has influenced national policies, raising the profile of the water and sanitation sector.
- In order to reach marginalised groups in Mali, WaterAid carried out research into gender in 2005 and developed a project to work with disabled people.
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Credit: WaterAid /
Layton Thompson |
Case study
Diarrah Tangara is a member of a woman's association in Mali that holds sessions on good hygiene practice.
I think having safe water and clean sanitation can change many things in our life. If you have safe water this means you don't need to use traditional wells for drinking and cooking and this in turn will keep you and your family from water related diseases.
Price Points:
£5 could pay for the labour per metre for drainage of a stand pipe £12 could pay for the cost of a hygiene educator for one month £54 could pay for the repair of one household latrine £180 could pay for the installation of a centre for replacement parts
Films/technology/other links:
Community-based advocacy in West Africa podcast
WaterAid teams up with WSSCC to support journalists in West Africa
WASH in school in Mali
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Mali Sources:
World Bank (2011) World Development Indicators database - databank.worldbank.org, WHO / UNICEF (2010) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report 2010, UNDP (2011), Human Development Report 2011 NB. Official statistics tend to understate the extent of water and sanitation problems, sometimes by a large factor. There are not sufficient resources available for accurate monitoring of either population or coverage. Varying definitions of water and sanitation coverage are used and national figures mask large regional differences in coverage.
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What we do
16,000
