Mali is the 8th largest country in Africa but it is one of the least developed countries in the world. It is positioned 182 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) and it is estimated that over 5.2 million people require humanitarian assistance.
Conflict broke out in Jan 2012 and has become steadily worse since then. The effects of conflict reached a critical level in 2018 with a large amount of people leaving their homes and livelihoods and moving to other areas of the country to escape.
The crisis is largely unreported and unnoticed by the world but the Scottish Government, through the Humanitarian Emergency Fund, provided funds to help those in most need. Tearfund received a grant of £100,000 to support internally displaced people in the region of Mopti with life saving assistance. A needs assessment in the local area highlighted that 98% of people needed food, 95% needed healthcare and 54% needed water.
Tearfund, through local partner ODES, has been supporting 340 families to buy essential food and kitchen equipment, as well as providing mosquito nets, hygiene kits and promoting hygiene awareness to reduce the incidence of disease.
