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Mali: Improving Access to Rural Health Services                                                             July 1, 2002
                     Too few community health centers in the countryside, expensive drugs, and a poorly coordinated health
                     care system have long plagued Mali’s health sector. To address these shortcomings, the World Bank
                     together with other donors in 1991 launched a Second Health, Population, and Rural Water Project. 

                     Spurred by a productive partnership between the Bank and UNICEF and the involvement of local
                     communities, the project met its objectives. By 1998, nearly 300 new community health centers had
                     been built, one-third of which were directly financed by the project. The percentage of the population
                     living within 15 kilometers of a health facility more than doubled from 17 percent in 1995 to 39 percent
in 1998.

The community clinics have been largely successful in improving service coverage and client satisfaction. In addition,
community management committees were established for some government clinics, although staff continue to be employed by
the government. Generic prescription drugs are now widely available, and prices are low enough for community health enters
to cover recurrent costs from drug sales.

Updated: July 2002