Bamako, Mali – The United States and Mali share a belief that a healthy population is essential to building a stronger, more prosperous nation.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has issued a $55 million award for Keneya Nieta to improve community health in Mali over the next five years.  Keneya Nieta is a consortium of Malian and international partners led by the University Research Co. LLC (URC).

Keneya Nieta is an integrated community health program designed to improve health use and access at the local level, with an emphasis on the needs of mothers and children.  It builds on the success of USAID’s Services de Santé à Grand Impact (SSGI) consortium, led by Save the Children, which has worked since 2014 with the government and people of Mali to better care for women and children under-five. 

With generous support from the American people, the SSGI consortium partnered to achieve impressive results over the past five years in 37 health districts in Bamako, Gao, Kayes, Koulikoro, and Sikasso.  The proportion of pregnant women attending ante-natal care increased by over 20%, nearly 700,000 children received preventive medication for seasonal malaria, and 3,737,419 children received Vitamin A to support healthy growth and development.  

In just one year in these areas, 2019, 13,000 newborns not breathing at birth were resuscitated, more than 400,000 newborns received postnatal care within two days of childbirth, and the percentage of families choosing modern contraceptive methods for birth spacing and better health increased from 19% to 28%.  During the same year SSGI helped to treat 138,000 cases of child diarrhea and reached 500,000 pregnant women with nutrition-specific interventions.  These are just a few of the impressive gains made in maternal and child health thanks to the hard work and dedication of SSGI, Malian partners at all levels, and the Government of Mali.

As we look to the future, Keneya Nieta will work with even more partners, introduce innovative new technologies that bring services closer to the people, and empower communities to better plan, manage and finance their own health systems. 

Mali’s greatest asset is its people and the path to resilience, prosperity and peace for any country inevitably leads through the doctor’s door.  The United States invests in the health and well-being of Mali’s people because disease and despair breed conflict.  The world is a safer and better place for all when health systems are sustainable, and people are empowered to live healthy lives.  The U.S. investment in Keneya Nieta helps to achieve that vision. 

For more information, contact:
Embassy Press Office / ACI 2000 Rue 243 Porte 297 / Bamako, Mali
Tel : 20 70 24 24 /20 70 24 26 / Fax : 20 70 24 79 / Email : PASBamako@state.gov
Embassy: https://ml.usembassy.gov/