HIGHLIGHTS
Mali is declared Ebola free
Attacks in west central Mali disrupted social services
10% of Malians are food insecure
Mali , Burkina Faso and UNHCR sign an agreement on the repatriation of Malian refugees
Mali is Ebola free but vigilance is still needed
On 18 January 2015, the Malian Government and WHO announced the end of the Ebola epidemic in Mali, 42 days after the recovery of the last case registered, and with no new infection reported in the meantime. A total of 8 cases (7 confirmed and 1 probable death) were reported in Mali during the outbreak - 6 deaths and 2 recoveries. These cases were all connected to two chains of transmission originating from neighbouring Guinea.
Under the aegis of the Government, several actors coordinated their efforts to achieve this success: the State technical services, the United Nations System, national and international NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Mali’s technical and financial partners (TFPs), civil society, etc. Before the first case was detected, several prevention and preparedness measures had been carried out within the framework of the national contingency plan against Ebola, including communication and social mobilization; the strengthening of health structures in infection control and treatment; active monitoring and the setting up of cordons sanitaires; the reinforcement of diagnostic capacity, etc.
Starting from 23 October 2014 (date on which the first case was detected), the Government and its partners strengthened their actions to fight and prevent the disease. A particular emphasis was placed on contact tracing, active monitoring, early warning, border controls, strengthening of human and material resources to treat, detect and control the disease, and social mobilization. Nationwide, efforts were particularly concentrated in Kayes and Bamako – where cases of infection were detected – and at the border of Guinea, where the two chains of transmission that affected Mali originated from.
