WOMEN-LED
HEALTH FINANCING 
Since 2013, we have helped women in peri-urban communities gather and share their funds by making loans to one another to pay for healthcare expenses or for small income-generating activities.
Women organize their own groups with about 20 members, elect group leaders, and set rules for contributing and borrowing.
The average weekly contribution is around 100 – 200 FCFA (about 25 cents).
“Simply put when money flows into the hands of women who have the authority to use it, everything changes.”
– Melinda French Gates
When women come together in their communities – they can be an amazing force for change. They are leading the way in finding local, sustainable solutions to improve access to care. They are proving that we can remove burdensome user fees without removing agency.
HOW WOMEN LEAD
In addition to their savings groups, women are also organizing cooperatives, creating sustainable livelihoods for their members and creating local, affordable products in their communities. They have also launched an ambitious project to create local, circular economies in the communities where they are needed most. Learm more about these projects:
COOPERATIVES
Since 2018, we have supported women in savings groups to form cooperatives that produce health-promoting products, like soap and peanut butter, right in their communities. They not only make valuable resources more available to their neighbors, they are increasing their incomes, as well. Read more.
Gnaman ni Sôrô ani Kènèya
Women in Sikoro, Sabalibougou and Kalabambougou are launching a local, circular, zero-waste model for eliminating environmental health and climate change threats, improving waste management, and creating sustainable livelihoods. Learm more about this innovative project.
OUR RESULTS
5,965
women in
288
groups
$69,346
saved
in 2023
4,805
educational sessions per year
360
women in
9
cooperatives
UPDATES
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 community of Kalabambougou, with the...
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 generously welcomes us under...
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 limited resources. Through this porte...
Supporting women and communities to develop local solutions that ensure every mother and child has access to quality healthcare.
US //
PO Box 51632, Durham, NC 27717
Mali //
Hamdallaye ACI 2000
Rue 222, Porte 100
Commune IV du District de Bamako
Côté Ouest de l'Ecole de Maintien de la Paix Alione Blondin Beye
info@malihealth.org
