PROGRAM: Mali
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Social and Economic Behaviors Among Youth, 688-001
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $5,995,000 DA; $12,433,000 CSD;
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,300,000 DA; $4,061,000 CSD;
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1998 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003

Summary: The purpose of the youth activity is to improve the basic education and life skills of youth 15 years and younger; and to improve the health of Malians of all ages, with a focus on those ages 25 years and younger. Better-educated and healthier youth are more productive citizens, and can contribute to a more stable, progressive Mali. These objectives are being accomplished through improving national and community interventions in the areas of basic education, child survival, and reproductive health. The youth activity targets two results: better educated children, with emphasis on increasing girls' education and life skills relevant to Mali's market economy; and healthier children and parents capable of making responsible decisions about child survival and reproductive health.

The FY 2001 planned obligation will fund: Development Assistance (DA) Population ($5,995,000) to expand family planning activities and contraceptive procurements; Child Survival and Diseases (CSD) Children's Basic Education ($5,266,000) to support community schools and basic education reform; CSD Child Survival ($4,000,000) to improve maternal and child health programs; and CSD HIV/AIDS ($3,167,000) to increase HIV/AIDS prevention.

The FY 2002 resources requested are for: Development Assistance (DA) Population ($3,300,000) to fund family planning activities and contraceptive procurements; Child Survival and Disease (CSD) Children's Basic Education ($2,861,000) to support community schools and basic education reform; CSD Child Survival ($1,000,000) for improving maternal and child health programs; and CSD HIV/AIDS ($200,000) for HIV/AIDS prevention.

Agreements under this notification will incorporate clauses that implement the President's recent directive reinstating the Mexico City Policy.

Key Results: The youth activity is on track. Most targets are being met and some are being exceeded. Key results include: access to child survival services in targeted areas has increased to 20%; primary school construction through USAID support now totals 1,542 schools, for an added enrollment of 114,000 children; and national enrollment in primary schools rose to 58%, a gain of 2.2% in one year.

Performance and Prospects: USAID encourages U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) partnerships that support community establishment and maintenance of basic health centers. USAID's PVO partners focus increasingly on village-based and mobile outreach efforts. Through standardization of procedures for an integrated approach to prevention and treatment of childhood illnesses, USAID's PVO partners are able to improve health services. At the regional level, health care providers are better equipped, from design through to management of health care, as a result of USAID-sponsored training and systems improvement.

USAID is engaged in policy dialogue on community-based efforts and their integration into the Ministry of Health's package of basic health services. This includes child survival services and innovative approaches involving USAID's PVO partners that would bring greater health information and deliver better services to Malian communities. USAID is the primary donor funding the Demographic Health Survey for 2000-2001.

The growth of peer education programs offers further promotion of reproductive health services, including participation by vulnerable groups such as adolescents and young adults aged 10 to 25 years. In 1999, our implementing partners trained several hundred peer educators. Subsequently, thousands of adolescents benefited from reproductive health information and products. USAID's implementing partners are seeing positive results from their strategies that focus on the special needs of these adolescent and young adult groups.

The need for improved contraceptive availability through both public and private outlets, social marketing agents, and an expanding network of peer educators has resulted in an agreement with the Ministry of Health on a new approach. This includes the selection of a new Malian private sector wholesale distributor for direct provision of contraceptives to both public and private sector distributors, and the exploration of further cost recovery options, a major step towards improving and expanding the supply of contraceptives in Mali. In FY 2000, USAID provided further assistance to the Ministry of Health regarding contraceptive security for Mali, including development of a long-term vision, a strategy, and short and medium-term action plans.

In FY 2000 USAID developed an HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Strategy (2001-2005) that incorporates efforts with the Ministry of Health, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Population Services International, the latter a new partner to be contracted in early 2001. This strategy advocates a multi-sectoral approach, and the new partner activities are designed to improve the existing systems and fill gaps in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, including counseling.

On the education front, USAID continues to support efforts to expand primary school access and to make the curricula more relevant to young Malians. USAID's PVO partners continue to strengthen the capacity of communities to manage these schools through on-going training and supervision activities. USAID funding supported the development, production and distribution of local language materials for use in schools. These materials are designed to enhance relevance of the classroom lessons. Malians responsible for the reform of basic education curriculum (begun in 2000) received additional training.

FY 2000 was the first full year for USAID's interventions under the Strategies for Advancing Girls' Education (SAGE) activity. The SAGE is testing a life skills manual of 100 topics for use in Mali's primary schools. To improve the enabling environment for girls' education in Mali, the SAGE activity trained female members of school management committees and also supported the Ministry of Education's curriculum reform and teacher training, and promotion of the value of girls' education.

The youth activity expects to achieve the following by 2002: 1) 22% access to child survival services and 50% access to family planning services; 2) primary school enrollment rates of 62% total and 49% for girls; and 3) 9.5% contraceptive prevalence rate among women of reproductive age. The timing for completion of the Youth activities by December 2002 fits well with the advent of the new health and education strategies, as the stage will be set for the initiatives of the next decade.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: None anticipated.

Other Donor Programs: USAID works with the World Bank, Canada, UNICEF, and the Netherlands. Other donors that support education and health and activities include Japan, the European Union, Germany, France, and Switzerland.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: USAID's development partners include AFRICARE, CARE, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Development and Population Activities, Cooperative League of the USA (CLUSA), John Snow Incorporated, Save the Children USA, World Education, and Population Services International.

FY 2002 Performance Tables

Performance Measures:

Indicator Information: