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palliative care & oncology service in Bamako
Access to medical care remains very limited in the north and centre of Mali due to a lack of medical staff and supplies and spiralling violence between armed groups.

MSF works across Mali to assist the most vulnerable people. We are responding to the growing crisis in the central region, providing healthcare to nomadic communities in the north and caring for cancer patients in Bamako, the capital.

We also support nutrition and paediatric services in the southern Koutiala district. 

Mali Explainer Animation ENG
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Understanding the crisis in Mali

Mali: Understanding the humanitarian crisis

Headlines about Mali often focus on conflict and security concerns. But these stories obscure the reality for people living through a six-year long crisis.

With 130,000 refugees already in neighbouring countries, more than one million people inside Mali are now in urgent need of health assistance.

This short video animation explains why.

Our activities in 2023 in Mali

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2023.

MSF in Mali in 2023 Amid escalating violence and increasing attacks on our staff and facilities, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams continued to deliver essential healthcare to displaced people and war-wounded patients in Mali.
Mali IAR map 2023

Violence against civilians intensified during the year, prompting displacement, particularly in the country's northern and central regions. Others were trapped in cities and villages by armed groups or impacted by intercommunal conflict. Violence in northeast Mali also caused movements of people, especially around Ansongo and Gao, where we continue to provide humanitarian aid and treat the wounded.

Many international humanitarian organisations withdrew from areas affected by fighting, as they were unable to gain access to people in need. Our teams remained in Koro and Douentza, in the central region of Mopti, responding to the needs of displaced people and assisting refugees from neighbouring Burkina Faso.

MSF and other NGOs were also subjected to violence during the year; staff were kidnapped and assaulted, MSF-supported health facilities were looted, and our ambulances were attacked. In November, we were forced to evacuate our teams from Kidal, Boni and Nampala due to a marked deterioration in security in these areas. Nevertheless, we continue to run medical activities and provide humanitarian aid to people in remote areas affected by the conflict.

In addition to caring for the war-wounded and responding to the needs of displaced people, our teams provided a range of medical services, including maternal and paediatric care, screening and treatment for malnutrition, mental health care, and emergency surgery across all our projects in the country.

In the capital, Bamako, we continued our project in partnership with the Ministry of Health, which focuses on providing care for women with breast or cervical cancer.

 

In 2023
 
SMC and vaccination in the north of Mali
Mali

"There is a crisis overlap in northern Mali"

Voices from the Field 20 Apr 2017
 
SMC and vaccination in the north of Mali
Mali

MSF warns about the use of humanitarian aid for political and military interests

Report 24 Mar 2017
 
Ansongo hospital in Gao region, northern Mali, where MSF carries out consultations and assists deliveries.
Mali

Recent clashes in the north are hampering the deployment of humanitarian assistance

Project Update 4 Aug 2016
 
Niger: MSF response to meningitis, measles and cholera outbreaks
Niger

MSF teams respond to two epidemics and ward off a third

Project Update 26 May 2016
 
Koutiala comprehensive paediatric project
Child health

A day in one of our largest paediatric programmes

Voices from the Field 11 May 2016
 
SMC and vaccination in the north of Mali
Mali

Vaccination rate increases by 50 per cent in Ansongo

Project Update 25 Apr 2016

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19 November 2020