West Africa
Despite being some of the warmest, most welcoming people, we focus on communities in Mali, Togo, and Benin because they are among the most distressed, underserved places on earth.
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French-speaking West Africa was left relatively much worse off from colonization than the former British colonies. For that reason and due to our core competency in French culture and language, our scaling strategy focuses next on Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso and then all of French-speaking, West Africa.
Current Operations
Upcoming Operations
Mali, West Africa
General: The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. The eighth-largest country in Africa, its population is 21.9 million citizens, 67% of which is under the age of 25 as of 2017. Mali's health and development indicators rank among the worst in the world.
In 2020, GDP per capita for Mali was 897 US dollars. Mali is among the ten poorest nations in the world and is one of the 37 heavily indebted poor countries.
Conflict has existed in Mali in recent years which have included a number of coup d'état (2020, 2021) and irregularities in elections.
Health Care (under 5 mortality): Sub-Saharan Africa ‘leads’ the entire world in the number of children dying before the age of 5. For every 1,000 live births, 69 children are lost (compared to 6 in the United States). Even more tragic, in Mali, 108 children die before the age of 5. Put another way, 1 out of every 10 Malian children die before the age of 5. For context, this is more than 18x the mortality rate in the United States.
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 25.
Health Care (maternal care): Sub-Saharan Africa also ‘leads’ the entire world in number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In fact, Mali loses 300 moms per 100,000. To put this in context, this is 30x the number of moms lost in France (and other developing nations).
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 70.
Togo, West Africa
General: The economy of Togo has struggled greatly. The International Monetary Fund ranks it as the tenth poorest country in the world. While industry and services play a role, the economy is largely dependent on subsistence agriculture. In 2020, GDP per capita for Togo was a mere 644 US dollars.
From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a trading center for Europeans to purchase slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast."
Health Care (under 5 mortality): In Togo, 58 children per 1,000 die before the age of 5. Put another way, 1 out of every 20 children die before the age of 5. For context, this is 10x the mortality rate in the United States.
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 25.
Health Care (maternal care): Togo loses 228 moms per 100,000. To put this in context, this is 38x the number of moms lost in France (and other developing nations).
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 70.
Benin, West Africa
General: Benin is a small, tropical country whose economy is heavily dependent on agriculture like many of its neighboring nations. Based on GDP per capita, Benin in recognized as the 30th most poor country out of the 195 countries of the world. Benin is also home to about 13 million people with half of them living in rural parts of the country.
Health Care (under 5 mortality): According to the most recent information from the World Bank organization, Benin loses 84 children per 1,000 births before they reach the age of 5. Put another way, about 1 out of every 12 children die before the age of 5. For context, this is over 15x the mortality rate in the United States.
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 25.
Health Care (maternal care): According to the most recent data from the World Bank organization, 523 mothers die per 100,000 live births. To put this in context, this over 50x the number of moms lost in France (and other developing nations).
We subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goal targets which is 70.