CDC in Mali

Overview

Since the partnership with Mali began in 1966, CDC's support to the Ministry of Health (MOH) has expanded to address HIV, TB, malaria, meningitis, and influenza. CDC also helps strengthen Mali's laboratory, surveillance, and workforce so that the country is ready to respond to disease outbreaks.

Global health security

Strategic focus

CDC supports Mali in achieving the goals outlined in the Global Health Security Agenda and implementing the International Health Regulations. CDC's global health security work in Mali focuses on strengthening the country's public health systems across the following core areas:

Workforce development

Since 2016, CDC supports training scientists through the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). Participants learn to gather critical data and turn it into evidence-based action. Through FETP, CDC strengthens Mali's workforce capacity to identify and stop outbreaks before they spread. Mali implements FETP Intermediate and Frontline, and Malian candidates participate in FETP Advanced in Burkina Faso. Most of the FETP Advanced graduates are in MOH leadership or FETP training support positions.

Emergency response

With CDC technical assistance, a national health Emergency Operations Center was established to test, detect, and rapidly respond to public health emergencies. CDC collaborated with the MOH to establish a National Public Health Institute (NPHI) in 2019.

CDC works with NPHI and MOH to build capacity in leadership in Public Health Emergency Management through training programs. CDC helps develop guidance on incidence management systems and operations. CDC has also collaborated with the West Africa Health Organization, World Health Organization, and German World Technical Assistance to conduct simulation exercises to test and improve the capacity for Malian health authorities to respond to cross border health emergencies.

During the COVID-19 response, CDC provided support coordinating the response. CDC also enhanced the country's capacity to respond to future outbreaks by procuring laboratory equipment for key laboratories.

Surveillance systems

CDC helps strengthen Mali's disease surveillance systems to better track and respond to disease through the following activities:

• Partnering with WHO to conduct Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response trainings.
• Funding regional surveillance and health information systems strengthening project in Mali and five neighboring Francophone countries.
• Surveillance and Informatics Systems to assess the health information systems being used in the country to identify gaps and areas for improvement.

Laboratory systems strengthening

CDC supports the MOH and NPHI by providing:

• Technical assistance and coordination of partners operating in Mali.
• Financial support to reinforce specimen referral and transport across tiered laboratory networks, decentralizing diagnostic testing for priority diseases.
• Implementing genomic surveillance and external quality assessment proficiency testing for priority diseases.
• Training on biosafety and biosecurity.
• Mapping partner lab systems.
• Strengthening preparedness for disease detection.
• Decentralizing molecular diagnostic capacity to four regions.
• Strengthening bioinformatics.

Key achievements

• 49 districts, 7 regional laboratories, and 7 national laboratories are now able to perform diagnostic tests for 13 priority pathogens.
• Over 237 field epidemiologists from all regions have completed the FETP trainings since 2016.
  • The University of Bamako's Faculty of Medicine received an National Institutes of Health Fogarty grant to support development of a national Advanced FETP. CDC is providing assistance to develop the program, in collaboration with the MOH.
• Over 313 members of Rapid Response Teams from 47 health districts in six regions (Bamako, Mopti, Koulikoro, Timbuktu, Segou, and Kayes) are trained in public health emergency investigation and management.

Malaria

Strategic focus

Malaria is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in Mali, particularly among children under five years of age.

CDC has worked with United States Agency for International Development in Mali since 2008 to reduce malaria deaths and illness through the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). Mali's malaria control strategy emphasizes specific epidemic and entomological surveillance and universal coverage of key malaria interventions as well as targeted operational research.

Key achievements

Since 2008, CDC's support through PMI has helped deliver:

• More than 22 million mosquito nets.
• Nearly 14 million malaria preventive treatments in pregnant women.
• More than 33 million rapid diagnostic tests.
• Nearly 25 million doses of fast-acting malaria medicine.

Other activities

Influenza

CDC works with Mali's Center for Vaccine Development to help build surveillance and laboratory capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to influenza threats. Surveillance is being conducted using sentinel sites in two regions and in the capital city of Bamako.

Polio

CDC in collaboration with WHO and African Field Epidemiology Network provides technical support to strengthen surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis in the high-risk health districts of Nioro, Bougouni and Kignan.

Key achievements

• Through the Stop Transmission of Polio program, CDC supports polio eradication activities.
  • This work includes data management, communication, and surveillance.
• CDC assigned an international consultant to the WHO country office to support coordination of Global Polio Eradication Initiative activities.

Meningitis

CDC has a long history of collaboration with the Mali MOH on meningitis prevention and control. Activities include:

• Technical support and evaluation of the 2010-2011 MenAfriVac mass vaccination campaign.
• Assessment and strengthening of meningitis surveillance.
• Technology transfer of real-time sensitive diagnostics for the three main vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis pathogens.
• Partner support to the NPHI to strengthen surveillance of meningitis and laboratory capacity for bacterial meningitis testing.

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