News

Situation in Mali

Mali has been experiencing instability and conflict since the 2012 military coup. In 2020, a transition government was installed pending the organization of democratic elections and Colonel Assimi Goïta was proclaimed Head of State on May 28, 2021 by the Constitutional Court.

More recently French troops have left the country at the government’s request, as has the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) which was based in the north of the country from July 2014. Elections scheduled for February 2024 were postponed  and  Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have announced their imminent withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The government is no longer committed to the Algiers accords, the 2015 peace agreement between the Republic of Mali and the Coordination of Azawad Movements in the North.

Insecurity in north and central Mali, where communities are exposed to coercian and attack from jihadi-linked groups, has led to civilian deaths and widespread displacement. The Malian army, with Russian military support, is fighting the Tuareg Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) to expand its control over territory in the North.

This complex situation is accompanied by popular antipathy for France in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military governments are also in power. The situation for urban Malians is compounded by the cost of living crisis, frequent power cuts and an influx of friends and family from north and central Mali, where rural communities are exposed to poverty, insecurity and reduced or non existant health and education services. Reliable information is hard to find and social media is full of stories that are difficult to verify. There is a lot of enthusiasm for Mali standing on its own feet and moving forward to a self determined future, but in the overall geo-political situation, the challenges are enormous.

Many international development partners have withdrawn or reduced their support and Malian Associations and NGO’s are faced with funding challenges. In this situation MDG wants to do its small part in offering ongoing financial and moral support to our partners.

 

News from MDG

Currently MDG is faced with some challenges, including greater difficulty in fundraising, a reduction in the size and capacity of our long serving committee, and uncertainty about the longer-term sustainability of our partnership model with partners in Mali. There continue to be real strengths, including ongoing regular fundraising by  the ‘Babs’ catering group and a number of long standing, very generous members. Maintaining the organisation, however, now relies on a small group of people with quite limited time and resources. We are regularly reviewing the situation, well aware of the difficult times experienced by J&D and the importance of our contibution to the work of PAD, amidst the wider instabiity and uncertainty for Mali and the wider region.