Mali

The chapter documents the Malian government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and examines inclusiveness and the consideration of social inequalities. Specifically, it aims to assess the socioeconomic impact of the preventive and social protection measures on vulnerable households. Based on an analysis of national survey data from the National Institute of Statistics of Mali and World Bank, qualitative interviews, and secondary literature, we find that the government committed to curbing the spread of the virus, which had multiple effects on different population segments and economic sectors. As a result, the government put in place several socioeconomic support measures to enable affected sectors and vulnerable households to overcome the adverse effects of the pandemic and its subsequent preventive measures. However, we note that although the poor, female-headed households and rural households were the most affected in terms of loss of employment and income, and the lack of access to essential services such as drinking water, health care, and food, these vulnerable households have benefited the least from the assistance provided by government and NGOs, with a resulting exacerbation of already significant levels of inequality in Mali. According to key informants (KI), the imbalances in access to support measures were due to non-consultation of social groups and information asymmetry, which leads to poor targeting. We recommend strengthening institutions that collect data and implement social protection programmes and institutional collaboration in pandemic management.