The World Bank in Mali

Mali is a vast Sahelian country with a low-income economy that is poorly diversified and exposed to fluctuations in commodity prices. Its high population growth (fertility rate of 5.88 children per woman in 2018¹) and climate change threaten agriculture and food security.

The rate of extreme poverty has accelerated under the combined impact of the security crises and the pandemic, reaching 15.9% in 2021. Extreme poverty is set to increase further, reaching 19.1% in 2022, driven by the erosion of the purchasing power of the most vulnerable as a result of soaring consumer prices and weak economic growth. The country's 90% poverty rate is concentrated in the densely populated rural areas of the south.

Political situation

Mali has been going through a period of instability and conflict since the military coup of 2012 and the occupation of the northern regions by armed groups.

Following the institutional breakdown on August 18, 2020, a government and a National Transitional Council (CNT), acting as the National Assembly, were set up pending democratic elections. Colonel Assimi Goïta was proclaimed Head of State on May 28, 2021 by the Constitutional Court.

Meeting on July 3, 2022 at an ordinary summit in Accra, the ECOWAS Heads of State decided to lift the economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali, and accepted the timetable proposed by the transitional government for a return to civilian rule in March 2024. However, the Summit prohibited the transitional authorities from participating in future elections and maintained individual sanctions targeting certain members of the regime.

This timetable provided for the presidential election to be held in February 2024 and the installation of the President-elect in March 2024. However, on September 25, 2023, the government cited technical reasons for postponing the presidential election indefinitely. It also announced that the presidential election remained its sole priority. Only the constitutional referendum was held on June 18, 2023. The new constitution was approved by 97% and promulgated by the President of the Transition.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS on Sunday January 27, 2024, citing the sub-regional organization's departure from the integration ideals of its founding fathers.

On January 25, 2024, transitional president Assimi Goïta created an inter-Malian dialogue body to achieve peace, after formalizing the end of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, resulting from the Algiers process, concluded in 2015 with armed groups.

After ten years of existence, the Security Council decided, at the request of the Malian government, to end the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which completed its mission and the withdrawal of its personnel on December 31, 2023.

Economic situation

The economy proved resilient in 2022, with GDP growth estimated at 3.5%, despite the combined effects of ECOWAS sanctions and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, reflecting the rebound in cereal production and the resilience of the mining sector. Growth should stabilize at around 3.5% in 2023, due to a slight downturn in agricultural cereal production and the repercussions of an acute electricity supply shock on the productive fabric.

The sharp deterioration in terms of trade in 2022 eased in 2023, reflecting a fall in oil prices, against a backdrop of rising gold prices. This was moderated, however, by a decline in cotton exports following a weak season in 2022, and a recovery in import flows following the lifting of ECOWAS sanctions. These developments led to the stabilization of the current account deficit at 6.8% of GDP in 2023, while the decline in external financial flows became more pronounced in 2023.

Budget spending, which had been accelerating since 2020 in response to the multiple shocks, continued to rise in 2023, driven in particular by the wage bill and security spending. At the same time, tax revenues rebounded in 2023 with the resumption of trade flows following the lifting of ECOWAS sanctions, and lower inflationary pressures and fiscal spending requirements, leading to a stabilization of the fiscal deficit at 4.8% of GDP.

Following the lifting of sanctions announced by ECOWAS, short-term priorities include preserving the benefits of regional integration through the implementation of bilateral agreements on the free movement of goods, services, people and capital with non-WAEMU ECOWAS countries, while pursuing reforms to improve public expenditure management and tax administration performance.

(1) Data for World Bank – World Development Indicators 2018

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024

The World Bank's action in Mali is determined by a partnership framework designed to meet the post-crisis challenges of 2012 and 2020. A new partnership framework covering the period 2024-2026 is currently being drawn up.

The International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group institution that helps the world's poorest countries, is currently financing 14 national and 10 regional projects in Mali for a total of just over $1.8 billion (including grants and loans). These projects support development in sectors such as energy, agriculture, roads, social protection, water and sanitation, women's empowerment, education and health.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)

IFC, the World Bank Group's private sector development arm, implements projects at the heart of Mali's development. In collaboration with the World Bank and the World Bank Group's Sahel Regional Initiative, IFC facilitates reforms that promote private sector development. To attract investors and reduce the risks associated with these projects, it provides financing and technical assistance.

In Mali, IFC is mobilizing the private sector to support the country's economic recovery and resilience. For the period 2021-2025, the strategy includes the following priorities:

• Supporting the response to Covid-19 by supporting the banking sector and microfinance institutions;
• Restructuring and restoring the viability of the private sector to reduce the impact of the crisis on real-sector businesses and financial institutions, with a focus on investments in the energy sector and supporting reforms in telecoms and digital finance ;
• Supporting the recovery and reconstruction of the economy by encouraging reforms to improve the business environment in order to boost investment in infrastructure, agriculture and agro-industry, and promote financial inclusion.

IFC in Mali is also involved in technical assistance projects designed to improve the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises and the business climate, in collaboration with the World Bank.

As of February 29, 2024, IFC commitments in Mali totaled $63.6 million and included investments in the financial, infrastructure, services and agribusiness sectors.

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024

The Accelerating Progress Towards Universal Health Coverage (PACSU) project

PACSU, which came into effect on December 27, 2019, aims to improve the use and quality of reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, adolescent and nutritional health services, particularly among the poorest households, in targeted areas. It benefits women of childbearing age, adolescents and children, targeted among the most isolated and vulnerable communities. It currently covers four regions (Koulikoro, Mopti, Ségou and Gao) for 8,000,000 people, including 1,607,248 children aged under 5 and 1,767,973 women aged 15 to 49. Within the framework of results-based funding, PACSU recorded the following key results:

• 2,265 health facilities under contract out of 2,328 planned for enrolment in the 4 regions covered, representing an enrolment rate of 97.3%;
• 697 new buildings were constructed;
• 385 buildings renovated or rehabilitated;
• 104 community health centers were built and equipped with analysis laboratories;
• 329 motorcycles purchased for advanced strategy activities;
• 17 water supply systems installed in health facilities;
• 337 qualified personnel (doctors, midwives, obstetric nurses, lab technicians, etc.) have been recruited.

The Rural Accessibility Improvement Project (PAAR)

The PAAR aims to facilitate rural communities' access to markets and basic services by improving rural tracks, treating critical points and setting up a routine maintenance mechanism to ensure the long-term viability of investments. During its first two phases, the project resulted in the development of 1,016.46 km of rural tracks, i.e. 62.73% of the target. A further 604.027 km are currently being developed (37.27%). All these improvements have enabled:

• Open up a total population estimated at 625,785 inhabitants in 13 cercles, 48 rural communes and 163 riverside villages;
• improve access to over 300 schools and health centers;
• provide the villages covered with 132 socio-economic infrastructures in line with their needs, including: 43 blocks of 3 classrooms, i.e. 129 classrooms, each with 24 desks or 3,096 tables, and 6,192 new classrooms in the beneficiary schools; 24 schools have each received a fence, ensuring physical and psychological protection for pupils and teachers; 22 health centers have been rehabilitated, providing a better care environment for patients and a better working environment for nursing staff; 27 boreholes have been equipped with human-powered pumps to provide good-quality water for the beneficiary populations.

Urban drinking water supply project

In 2019, 65% of Bamako's inhabitants had access to drinking water, and subscribers were experiencing major shortages. To address this situation, the government has developed a multi-donor program, entitled Projet d'alimentation en eau potable de Bamako à partir de la localité de Kabala, which aims to provide a quality drinking water service to 95% of the population by 2025:

• The new production and storage facilities have significantly reduced shortages for over 600,000 people;
• Launched in June 2019, the 110,000 social connections program, including 59,000 financed by the World Bank, has provided access to drinking water at home for more than 2,117,100 people, including 1,258,310 with IDA financing, i.e. 61.1%;
• some 400,000 people will be able to obtain drinking water thanks to the construction of more than 1,200 standpipes, of which 300 (25%) with IDA financing.

IDA funding has also helped strengthen drinking water supply systems in Gao (Gao region), Bougouni and Sélingué (Bougouni region), Markala (Ségou region), Kita (Kita region) and Nioro du Sahel (Nioro region). It has given an additional 356,000 people access to quality water services in the six secondary centers of the aforementioned towns.

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024

The World Bank works with Mali’s other technical and financial partners (bilateral and multilateral donors and the United Nations system on the ground). It also works closely with the private sector, civil society, municipalities, and universities.

In July 2017, Germany, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, France, the European Union, and the United Nations Development Programme launched the Sahel Alliance to provide an appropriate and coordinated response to the challenges faced by the Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger). Since then, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom have joined the Alliance.

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024