Food insecurity and malnutrition are endemic in Mali, hitting children hard. While rates of stunting (chronic malnutrition) have gone down significantly over the past decade, nearly 1.5 million children under the age of five are still expected to suffer from wasting (acute malnutrition) between June 2022 and May 2023 and the path out of extreme poverty is hard. Only 45,020 new formal sector jobs are created each year, while the labor supply grows by an average of 300,000.
USAID Feed the Future Mali Sugu Yiriwa is helping Malians address both poverty and malnutrition. Since its launch in 2021, Sugu Yiriwa has trained and coached 2,500 women in Mali’s conflict-affected Mopti and Tombouctou regions. These women belong to a network of 167 groups producing local nutrient-dense and nutritious foods to fight malnutrition. With the support of Sugu Yiriwa, these groups were trained to produce, market, and sell fortified flour. Sugu Yiriwa also works with regional authorities and community health services to fight against child malnutrition and promote the consumption of a balanced diet. As part of the effort to increase the availability of nutrient-dense local foods, the Regional Health Directorate tested and approved the quality of the flour produced by the rural women entrepreneurs.
“Before, we were processing our fortified products without following the recommended hygiene and packaging rules. Thanks to Sugu Yiriwa, we received multiple trainings,” said Fatoumata Coulibaly, one of the women entrepreneurs from Djenné. “Since then, all the processors in our cooperative have placed great emphasis on hygiene and respecting proper procedures for the processing of our products, especially the enriched flour. Enriched flour remains our flagship product here in Djenné. It sells well and has been recommended to patients with children under five years old and some pregnant women by Doctor Aboubacar Sidibe, chief pediatrician of the Community Health Center of Djenné. This is a great achievement and a great source of pride for us.”
USAID Feed the Future Mali Sugu Yiriwa is now helping the women’s groups to be self-sustaining. Sugu Yiriwa buys enriched flour directly from these women to distribute to those most in need and to boost women’s entrepreneurship in remote areas of Mali. To date, Sugu Yiriwa has bought 14,000 kilos of their fortified flour for $43,699 (approximately FCFA 27,000,000) and distributed the flour to over one thousand pregnant and lactating women. This helps fight malnutrition, fuels demand, and nurtures sustainable markets.
Mariam Coulibaly, a pregnant woman with children at-risk of malnutrition says that receiving nutritious, fortified flour for her children was transformative. "With the fortified flour given by Sugu Yiriwa, I will be able to feed my children for at least the next two months. My gratitude is quite deep today. I am very happy and thank USAID wholeheartedly for bringing us Sugu Yiriwa.”
CARE Mali/Sugu Yiriwa