Child Protection in Mali

The expected outcomes for this project include: 1) increased effectiveness of the child protection system for a protective environment that respects the rights of children, especially girls, in the Kayes, Sikasso and Mopti regions; 2) increased community capacity to ensure better protection of children, especially girls, during and after crises, against harmful practices in the Kayes, Sikasso and Mopti regions; and 3) increased access to basic social services and sustainable rehabilitation/reintegration measures for children affected by the crisis and those affected by harmful practices, especially girls, in the Kayes, Sikasso and Mopti regions.

Results achieved as of March 2018 include the following: 1) the establishment of a Child Protection Information System (SIPRE) to gather reliable data on vulnerable children in the project intervention areas; 2) a community engagement in the form of 200 village committees on children’s rights violation prevention and alert; 3) 1,189 municipal counsellors and local decision-makers (522 of whom are women) were trained and informed on child protection, including girls, and against harmful practices such as early marriage and excision, as well as on looking after abuse and violence victims; 4) 134 (61 of whom are girls) who were previously excluded from school were integrated with the support of the project; 5) the mayors of the 20 project intervention communes signed a commitment to issue birth certificates; and 6) birth certificates were issued to 634 children (317 of whom are girls) who previously did not have one, enabling them to be enrolled in school.