Mali: $173.1 million in cooperation with the UN for the period 2027-2031

Mali and the United Nations are strengthening their cooperation framework. The Board of Directors of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) approved, on Wednesday, August 26 in New York, the new programs intended for the country for the period 2027-2031. The cumulative indicative envelope amounts to $173.1 million.

UNDP plans for $130.2 million, compared to $42.9 million for UNFPA. In total, $39.9 million will come from the regular resources of the two agencies, while the remaining $133.2 million will have to be mobilized from partners and other financing mechanisms.

Mali’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Issa Konfourou, called on international partners to contribute to this mobilization effort.

UNDP targets the economy and governance

The UNDP program is based on two axes. An envelope of $47.9 million will be devoted to economic transformation, value chains, renewable energies, and climate resilience. The remaining $82.3 million will go to governance, modernization of public services, access to justice, social cohesion, and peace consolidation.

The program aims in particular to reduce the poverty rate from 43.3% in 2024 to 37.35% in 2031. It also plans to increase the share of renewable energies in final consumption from 11.3% to 25.65%, and to expand the restored or protected areas from 38,292 to 78,292 hectares. Free legal assistance should also benefit 200,000 people, compared to the current 79,000.

UNFPA focuses on health and women

UNFPA will allocate $18.2 million to sexual and reproductive health as well as maternal and neonatal health. An envelope of $17 million will target the fight against gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriages.

The program should also allow one million new users to access modern family planning methods. The number of communities publicly engaged against female genital mutilation and early marriages is expected to increase from 400 to 750.

These priorities respond to strong demographic challenges: the Malian population is growing by 3.3% per year and nearly 70% of Malians are under 25 years old. UNFPA also estimates maternal mortality at 325 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Both programs are expected to take effect in 2027. However, their implementation will remain dependent on the effective mobilization of the announced funding. They are part of Mali’s Vision 2063 and the National Strategy for Emergence and Sustainable Development 2024-2033.