Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Mali

Aid organisations in Mali: cooperation and competition in the face of a closed humanitarian market

Verena Richardier

Within a vibrant voluntary sector, Malian aid organisations take many forms, with a variety of objectives and specific rules. There are nevertheless significant ties between them, notably via the careers of their employees, and though there is a significant presence of local organisations in the humanitarian market, this is also uneven and depends on the resources available. Indeed, there is a growing gap between organisations that are in the “market” and organisations that are limited to a more “local” level.

Seeing humanitarian and development aid as a market is not obvious within the world of international solidarity. Indeed, a market is the place where supply and demand meet. It is, common sense tells us, geared towards the principles of rationality and economic interest, which are not always compatible with solidarity. Yet, the expression, “cost per beneficiary” is commonly used by international aid workers. It implies an idea of rationality because a project needs to be as cheap as possible for each person who receives aid. This type of expression, while common, is nevertheless much less legitimate than expressions based on the ideas of care and assistance.

The international aid market in Mali came into existence with the first major droughts of the 70s. It subsequently grew based on the international model where associations represent the most appropriate structure with regard to governance issues in a context where there is a great deal of distrust of the state. This development took place in many countries on the African continent, but the 2012 crisis in Mali, and the French intervention, led to a new, more established set-up based on several sources of legitimate authority in addition to the Malian state, embassies and NGOs, such as OCHA, the UN agency in charge of humanitarian coordination. At the same time, the international organisations that arrived in the country to tackle the crisis came up against forms of assistance that are peculiar to well-established Malian associations. This weakened certain organisations – and created new prospects for others – by modifying the balance of the voluntary sector due to the introduction of a market logic based on competition.

Read the full analysis at Groupe URD