UPDATES FROM THE MALI HEALTH TEAM 
Meet Mandy Tounkara
Late on a Tuesday afternoon in October, when the sun descends to a favorable height, you could walk about 300 meters from a bank of the Niger River and find Mme. Mandy Tounkara, at work in her vegetable garden. In the peri-urban...
Meet the women of Coopérative Bènkadi in Sanankoro
One morning in March, at the beginning of Mali’s hot season, we went to meet Fatoumata to learn more about the activities of the women of Sanankoro, and their cooperative. Despite the blazing heat, 40° C (104° F) in the shade, Fatoumata...
Collecting data and waste for Gnaman ni Sôrô ni Kènèya
The following are excerpts written by Adam Aicha Hanne, an MPH – PharmD student who spent her summer practicum working with the Mali Health team in Bamako. She worked on the Gnaman ni Sôrô ni Kènèya project with the Community Capacity...
Meet ASACO BAKON
In Mali’s decentralized health system, ASACOs (community health associations) are instrumental to not only the delivery of primary health care services – particularly maternal and child healthcare – but they are also the primary...
Reaching under-immunized children missed during COVID-19
In the first quarter of 2022, Bamako recorded nearly fifty suspected cases of measles. Public health officials collected samples and fourteen cases were confirmed at the national reference laboratory. Several of the 14 positive cases...
Vaccine Confidence: Results and Lessons Learned
Our project to assess and address vaccine confidence using a local, women-designed technology demonstrated that the use of participatory methods and tools to develop and disseminate voice-based social media messages improved both...
Improving community awareness and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines with local women-designed technology
As the world has seen and experienced during the pandemic, vaccinating populations requires much more than a vaccine. While the availability of a vaccine is one important component, a variety of factors can influence vaccination rates...
Meet Bintou and her twins
In West Africa, and especially in Mali, it is customary to go door-to-door when multiples (twins, triplets, etc.) are born, collecting support from neighbors. The birth of multiples can be a significant challenge for families with...
Training and supporting a high-impact team of community health leaders
In January, our community health worker team celebrated another year of not losing a single mother or child in their care. Their achievement is remarkable in any given year, but the disruptions posed by the pandemic makes these past two...
How women build the support and solidarity they need to stay healthy
For four years, the savings group Belle Dame, or Beautiful Lady, has met every Thursday as a part of Mali Health's women's health financing program. Their story begins with Mme. Koné Djénèba Ballo, the group’s founder and treasurer:...