The last 10 years in Mali have been characterised by conflict and political insecurity. The country has been rocked by three military coups during this time and human rights violations have increased at the hands of armed Islamist groups and Mali’s own security forces. The violence and conflict have led to 400,000 people being displaced, the highest in its recent history. More than half are women and 65% are younger than 18, according to Swiss NGO CARE, which works in Mali. It has called Mali “one of the world’s biggest forgotten crises”, where people have had to become used to a life of fear and uncertainty.
Economic fallout
The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that as many as 78% of Malians are poor, the majority living in the highly populated areas of the south. Around three-fifths of the population are rural. The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the socio-political crisis and plummeting agricultural production, forced the economy into a recession in 2020.
Drought and food insecurity
Mali is an agricultural economy – both subsistence and commercial. Most of the working population is involved in subsistence farming but climate change has caused frequent drought and flooding. Cereal production has decreased, while the lack of pastures and water for livestock has forced some farmers to sell their animals and give up their livelihoods. Around 1,9 million people are at risk of severe food insecurity.
Mainly in the regions of Kayes, Gao, Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu, malnutrition is evident and affects 30,4% of children under five, leading to stunted growth1 . Meanwhile, Mali’s population continues to grow rapidly (in 2018 the fertility rate was 5,88 children per woman, according to the World Bank).
A climate insurance policy
Since 2017, the WFP has supported a climate insurance policy for Mali to help fund an early emergency response to disaster. It also promotes resilience and provides financial protection to vulnerable populations when perils, such as Mali’s drought, occur. The ARC Replica programme complements and supports the efforts of the government in Mali to fight food insecurity and malnutrition. The government strategy is to provide half rations to populations in food crisis situations. However, the ARC Replica programme requires the government and partners, such as the WFP, to develop a contingency plan outlining how insurance payouts will be used.
The payout benefits
With the climate insurance payout, the WFP can provide early food assistance through cash transfers to 161,000 women, men and children affected by climate shocks. More than 20,000 children aged six to 23 months, and pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, will receive nutritional support and services. To help boost communities’ resilience to climate shocks, 23,000 people will benefit from community programmes. These include the building of pastoral wells, water towers and fishponds to help diversify production and sources of livelihoods and reduce the impact of future droughts. For every USD 1 paid out, there is also a USD 2 impact on the economy.
Total ARC Ltd. payouts
In March 2022, drought-stricken Mali received its first-ever ARC Ltd. climate risk insurance payout totalling USD 7,1 million, paid over to the WFP. This means that more than 204,000 vulnerable people will benefit.