COVID-19

On March 25, Mali confirmed their first 2 cases of Covid-19. The next day, the Minister of Health and Social Issues registered two additional new cases. To fight against the pandemic, the president of the country, Ibrahim Boubacar Kéïta, declared a state of emergency and closed the borders.

Currently, according to John Hopkins University, Mali has a total of 5.290 confirmed cases and 175 deaths.

Up to date data regarding the COVID-19 victims in Mali are being published from AccountabilityLab. They have also launched campaigns (Campagne Coronavirus CivActs) to prevent disinformation. This campaign collects rumors, concerns and questions from Malian communities to eliminate the gaps of information between the government, communication media, NGOs and citizens. This initiative is done with the intent that there’s better comprehension and that rumors are discredited before they cause more harm.

Unfortunately, the pandemic is worsening the humanitarian crisis in Mali, where 3.5 million Malians suffer from food insecurity. According to Antonio Guterres, General Secretary of the United Nations, the pandemic will provoke an increase of 1.3 million people who will have food insecurity in the coming months. The Malian Government has had to lower their forecast of economic growth for 2020 from 5% to 0.9%.