Resource information
Prior to the political and security
crisis of 2012, Mali, a large landlocked country in West
Africa already ranked among the poorest countries in the
world. In early 2012, the vast northern regions fell under
the control of extremist forces, while a coup d’état in
Bamako threw the country into political instability and
turmoil. A strong international military response in early
2013 prevented further destabilization, though part of the
North remains outside government control and insecurity has
spread to Bamako and the South. The signing of a peace
agreement in June 2015 has revived hopes for peace and
stability. The WBG has continued to support Mali throughout
the crisis. An Interim Strategy Note (ISN, FY14-15)
addressed the root causes of Mali’s underestimated
fragility, namely weak governance, extremely high
demographic growth and the consequences of climate change.
This CPF will continue to address the drivers of Mali’s
fragility, with a strong focus on governance, while building
on the progress and experience of the ISN. Drawing from the
recent Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), which stresses
the criticality of improving rural livelihoods to
sustainable poverty reduction, the Framework intends to
contribute to improving rural incomes by increasing
productivity and resilience in the four livelihood zones of
the country. Accordingly, the CPF proposes orientations for
the WBG engagement around three areas of focus: (i) improve
governance, by strengthening public resource management at
central and local levels and fostering citizen engagement;
(ii) create economic opportunities, by enhancing the
productive capacity of smallholders, increasing agricultural
value added and diversification to catalyze transformation,
and improving basic services by developing infrastructure
and connectivity; and (iii) build resilience, by developing
human capital, strengthening safety nets, improving risk
management mechanisms for the poor and vulnerable and
mitigating climate shock. A comprehensive program has been
proposed for the first two years of the CPF that includes
knowledge activities and development policy operations to
address the binding constraints to poverty reduction, as
well as citizen engagement, investment financing,
partner-funded and joint IFC/IDA investments and guarantees.
Key areas include the reinsertion of ex-combatants,
competitiveness and agricultural productivity, statistical
capacity, climate change, water and sanitation, safety nets
programs, energy, irrigation and transport.
