By Katia Ryan | GAIA VF Intern
The recent wave of political instability in Mali can be traced back to 2012 when soldiers first overthrew the sitting president on charges of government corruption. This coup also provided an opening for Islamic groups to seize northern Mali, adding further disruption to the country. For the next 8 years the country suffered from public unrest, fueled by extreme poverty and overpopulation in the capital, Bamako, as Malians fled violence in northern Mali. This culminated in a military coup led by Assimi Goita in August 2020.
In April 2021, French journalist Oliver Dubois was kidnapped, a sign of rapidly increasing tensions between the different parties vying for power. In May 2021, there was a third military coup led by Assimi Goita triggered by his dissatisfaction with the appointed government cabinet. Shortly after in June 2021, Assimi Goita was sworn in as interim president, appointing many of his fellow army officers into the cabinet. Just recently as last week an attempted assassination of Goita was reported. The suspect was arrested on site and died in custody. Goita’s response was as follows: “That’s part of being a leader, there are always malcontents”.
These frequent changes in power have created a somber tone in the government and have interrupted the continuity of provisions, including those important to public health. Many global institutions no longer recognize Mali in an attempt to disprove of its most recent coup. This instability directly impacts how effectively the government can meet the health needs of the country, and how quickly the government can respond to fast-changing public health situations. At a time where COVID-19 is still a major threat, public health programs are greatly needed. Dr.Karamoko, the GAIA VF Medical Director, spoke about the coup in relation to public health and mentioned that “it affects the systems of health because everything comes to an abrupt stop”.
Thank you for reading. Continue to follow along on GlobalGiving and our Social Media pages listed below.
By Katia Ryan | GAIA VF Intern
By Lucy Tian | GAIA VF Intern
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
