The END Fund engaged in Mali after being asked by the Mali Ministry of Health, USAID, RTI International, and HKI to assist in the implementation of an emergency response NTD control program.

The program’s objective is to reduce NTD morbidity in Mali by supporting an integrated MDA, thereby ensuring continuity of NTD treatment for the target population. As part of the MDA process, the program aimed to train approximately 30,000 community distributors and aid social mobilization in the five southern regions of Bamako, Kayes, Koulikoro, Mopti, and Segou. In areas of the country where the school-based distribution strategy was used in tandem with community-based strategies for schistosomiasis drug distribution, approximately 1,000 teachers and supervisors were also targeted for training. Although official impact studies are yet to be released, local and international partners are heralding the program as a major success.