What works in Mali

Mali has experienced significant gains in girls' education and women's economic empowerment through SWEDD, with girls' school drop-out rates falling from 53% to 2% in project areas (2016–19) and women's average monthly income rising from US$5 to US$110 (2014–20). In response to Mali's 2023 language-policy shift, RobotsMali produced 107 Bambara-language children's books using AI tools, reaching over 300 pupils within the first year, though there is no independent evaluation yet of literacy-outcome gains. The country is also part of Olympic Forest, a joint IOC–Tree Aid agroforestry programme across roughly 90 villages in the Kayes region targeting 2,120 hectares and 200,000 tonnes of CO2 sequestration, with 72,505 trees planted by March 2023 of a planned ~355,000–590,000. However, none of these practices provide comprehensive evidence of Mali's overall development or comparative performance.