In Mali, there is an urgent need to improve healthcare, health education, and children’s access to schooling. The Swedish non-profit organization Care for Mali, together with our partner organization AASM in Mali, creates sustainable projects that lead to long-term change.
Our current initiatives include:
• Training of midwives, with a special focus on rural areas.
• Long-term efforts to combat female genital mutilation (FGM).
• Free health check-ups for the elderly in Bamako and Bancoumana.
Our next goal:
To help all children in Bancoumana learn to read, write, and count by building a primary school. This will create positive changes for the children, the village, and the country.
Create change by supporting our projects.
All donations go directly to Mali!
Together, we create positive and lasting change.
MALI NEEDS MORE MIDWIVES
In Mali, there is a great need of better healthcare and education. Millions of people in rural areas are entirely outside the state-run healthcare system. Infant mortality is high as well as the risk for infectious diseases. Access to midwives locally is therefore life-saving.
Midwives in Mali help expecting mothers before and during childbirth. They also vaccinate and monitor infants during their first year. They give information about nutrition, family planning and inform about the negative effects of genital mutilation.
Many rural villages have no access to healthcare at all. This is why training of midwives for work in these areas is so vital.
OUR MIDWIFE TRAINING PROGRAMME
Since 2018, Care for Mali and AASM have provided midwife training for rural areas. The programme is well regarded, attracting students from across Mali. Graduates receive high praise from hospitals and clinics for their knowledge and competence. Several graduates have established their own rural clinics.
ADVOCACY AGAINST GENITAL MUTILATION
Since 2019, Care for Mali and AASM have carried out continuous awareness campaigns against FGM. Early work involved meetings with village chiefs, religious leaders and residents and circumcisers. AASM now continues this independently in three health centres (Bamako, Bancoumana and Wareda) through group sessions with pregnant women and new mothers, and through individual consultations during newborn examinations and vaccinations.
AASM reports that they are starting to notice changes in opinions in the villages where we are present. During 2024 and 2025 there were no new incidents due to FGM.
SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN 7-13 YEARS
Currently 90-100 children in the village of Bancoumana are without schooling each year. The village’s existing school is too small to accommodate all the children. Education strengthens children, provides a fair start in life and reduces the risk of extremism by integrating them into society. While there is no shortage of trained teachers in Mali, there is a critical lack of school buildings.
With support from the Family Olofsson Foundation and the Akelius Foundation we are building a primary school for grades 1–6 in Bancoumana. Our goal is to open the doors when the school year starts at the end of October.
NEW RURAL CLINIC
A new clinic in the rural area of Bancoumana is now finished. This will provide the inhabitants with access to qualified healthcare without having to travel to the capital, Bamako. We are looking for support to buy equipment for surgery, the laboratory and an ultrasound machine.
The clinic is equipped with running water and solar panels. A warm thank you to the Family Olofsson Foundation for Social Change for its generous support, which made the construction of the clinic possible.
Why Care for Mali?
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Care for Mali is a Swedish charity supporting better healthcare and education in Mali. Our focus is on women and children.
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100% voluntary work
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No hidden fees or administration costs in Sweden or Mali
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We support local projects that are ready to launch. All knowledge stays in Mali.
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Our partner AASM knows what the needs are and how to help. They have run several effective programmes already, supporting children and the elderly.
AASM - OUR PARTNER IN MALI
The volunteer organization AASM (Association Appui Santé Mali) was founded in 2012 to provide healthcare services to the most vulnerable in society. AASM was established by Dr. Noumou Kouyaté together with healthcare professionals, with the aim of offering medical care and information to those with the least resources.
In Mali, AASM enjoys an excellent reputation and has strong local roots. Its members are primarily healthcare workers, many of whom come from rural areas and have deep knowledge of local conditions and what is needed to create lasting change.
Dr Noumou Kouyaté