Mali

Let’s Bring Gender-Based Violence Out of the Shadows in Mali

Carol Bales — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:36:58 +0000

This post was originally published on VITAL, the blog of IntraHealth International.

In Bamako, Mali, last month, I sat in on a workshop about training health workers to comprehensively care for victims of sexual and gender-based violence. From the heated debates going on around the room—including when and if a husband has the right to beat his wife and whether or not the wife considers it acceptable—it was clearly a topic not often discussed openly.

In fact, this kind of training curriculum is unprecedented in Mali.

Author's name:

Ingrid Marzuola

Publication Date:

March 2014

Northern Mali’s Nursing Students Are Learning Fast—Because They Must

Carol Bales — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:46:03 +0000

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

CapacityPlus has been working in Mali through activities strengthening health workforce leadership, human resources information systems, and preservice education; activities have been temporarily suspended since April 2012 due to a coup d’état and the ongoing crisis in Mali’s northern regions.

Mali is currently experiencing the most severe crisis of its existence. When heavily armed Tuareg rebels and Islamist rebel groups poured in from Libya on January 17, 2012, they quickly defeated the underequipped, disorganized Malian army. Now they have seized the country’s vast northern regions and are working to force sharia—or Islamic law—on the people there.

The most visible rebel chief is not Malian—he is from Pakistan—and he often appears on TV to say that sharia is good for Mali. That if Mali accepts Islamic law, the rebels will help the country to get funds from other Islamic countries.

Author's name:

Cheick Touré

Publication Date:

November 2012

The Situation in Northern Mali

Carol Bales — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:07:58 +0000

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

Many Americans are unaware of the disaster that’s been unfolding in Mali for the past eight months. The northern region—a tract of the Sahara Desert that’s vaster than the state of California—became a warzone when radical Islamist rebel groups invaded in March 2012. The rebels are now enforcing sharia, or Islamic law, and their so-called justice is brutal and shocking. (It would be hard to believe it was real, if the rebels didn’t make a habit of posting photographic and video evidence of the atrocities—such as stonings and dismemberments—to Facebook and YouTube on a regular basis.)

The United States government is trying to decide whether and how to get involved. But some of Mali’s neighbors are already on the move—leaders from 15 West African countries agreed at an emergency summit earlier this month to send 3,300 of their own soldiers to try to oust the rebels.

Author's name:

Margarite Nathe

Publication Date:

November 2012

From Cairo to Dakar: Population Dynamics in Mali

Carol Bales — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:19:46 +0000

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

Twenty years ago I arrived in Bamako, Mali, and discovered a capital city settling into relative calm following a military-led coup. My first images of Bamako were of cows, cars, and citizens grazing, grinding gears, and gridlocked on Bamako’s main artery through town—the Route de Koulikoro.

One did not have to travel far on this road to experience the full spectrum of Malian culture and economy. Brand-new, shiny Land Rovers shared the road with bush taxis, mopeds, bikes, an occasional chicken, and many, many pairs of shuffling feet.

Author's name:

Sara Pacqué-Margolis

Publication Date:

November 2011

Discrimination in Law: Putting Female Health Workers at Risk

Sarah Dwyer — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:37:15 +0000

The temperature is stifling, red-tinged dust seems to coat every surface, and the whir of many fans fills the air with a rhythmic pulsing. I am seated on a bench in a small community center in Kati, Mali, observing a training meeting for all of the relais (health care volunteers) from the surrounding villages, sponsored by CapacityPlus.

The room is packed with women wearing bright and colourful boubous. Some are cradling babies, others are scribbling down notes—but they are all intensely attentive.

Relais are the backbone of Mali’s health care system. They are most important in remote underserved villages that lack health infrastructure, where they provide advice on prenatal and postnatal care. The training session focused on a picture book developed by the Malian government and a host of NGO partners.

The innovative guide has everything from images of a woman dragging her daughter to be excised under the word “NON” in a bold red to an illustration of a couple and their baby sleeping under a mosquito net.

Author's name:

Max Seunik

Publication Date:

June 2011