Week 1 Activity Post: Mali

When choosing a country I knew I wanted it to be in Africa. I’ve learned a hand full about the politics, demographics, and economy of a few different countries from a couple of my employees who are international students. I’ve chosen Mali for the country I will research on for the duration of this course. I’ve decide on this country because its issues involve the two main things that interest me: education and infant mortality. Unfortunately, many African countries have these problems, but Mali seems to have the highest percentage among many.

Mali has the highest infant mortality rate in Africa, with 100 deaths per 1,000 live births. This gives Mali the second highest infant mortality rate in the world, behind only Afghanistan. Most people who live in Mali are very poor, with around 80% of the population relying on agriculture to survive. In Mali, 1 in 2 children live in extreme poverty. The lack of access to basic healthcare as well as widespread malnutrition are two contributing factors to infant mortality.

Although education in Mali has been improving over the last decade, more than two million children aged between 5 to 17 still do not go to school, and over half of Mali’s young people aged 15 to 24 are not literate. Household poverty, child labor, child marriage, insecurity and a lack of schools close to children’s homes are all factors driving the high drop out and out-of-school rate in Mali. Among children that do attend school, the absence of qualified teachers, text books and low-quality school environment all adversely affect learning outcomes: the vast majority of students in fifth grade in Mali are not able to master basic mathematics and reading skills. Access to and completion of schooling is inequitable, with girls and children from the poorest families at highest risk of school dropout: only 72 per cent of girls are enrolled in primary basic education, compared with 82 per cent of boys. By the time they reach secondary education, the proportion of girls enrolled is only 15 per cent, compared with 21 per cent of boys.

The average wage in Mali is $1.25 per day, and more than half of the population currently lives below the international poverty line. This contributes to Mali being one of the least developed countries in the world. The average life expectancy of adults in Mali is 55, due to malnutrition and the lack of access to clean water.

These statistics did not surprise me, it’s kind of what I expected. When a community is in poverty, education usually declines as well. The percentage of girls enrolled are lower than boys because they are expected to stay in the house and care for the younger kids or elder. It was sad to find out Mali is the least developed and has a low average life expectancy due to lack of food and water. However, this being an African country I was not really shocked just more disappointed. I hope to learn more of the positive growth as my research continues.

Work Cited

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