IOM will continue to provide shelter and non-food items (NFI) in conflict-prone regions of Mali, such as Mopti, Timbuktu, Taoudéni, Gao, Kidal, and Menaka as well as areas experiencing displacement, like Ségou and Sikasso. Additionally, IOM will address the risks from natural hazards, such as floods, which may trigger further displacement.

Activities will include: 

• Providing a multi-faceted approach to support vulnerable communities and households in promoting pathways to durable solutions through material assistance, physical repairs, re/construction of homes while improving accessibility and cash to support labour costs;
• Supporting domestic needs by ensuring access to essential items such as fuel/energy, lighting, items for sleeping, cooking and eating utensils, personal clothing;
• Continuing to preposition items such as shelter materials, non-food items (NFIs), and other emergency kits in strategic locations across the country to ensure swift and effective action when shocks occur. These prepositioned resources will enable timely responses to disasters, mitigating their effects on affected populations and reducing displacement;
• Creating secure, inclusive, and climate resilient settlements that promote sustainability and community well-being;
• Distributing household items in coordination with the Shelter Cluster and the Malian authorities;
• Integrating cash assistance for building materials and labour into shelter interventions;
• Repairing and retrofitting damaged homes to improve safety and resilience;
• Enhancing lighting in IDPs sites through solar streetlamps and expanding green camp settings with solar panels, mini grids and other renewable energy solutions; and
• Implementing market-based interventions, including cash or voucher assistance for NFI/shelter/housing (assistance for rental, repairs/ reconstruction of damaged shelters, shelter NFI and household items), and for supporting community infrastructure.

IOM’s efforts will align with national DRR strategies and emphasize inclusivity, ensuring that vulnerable groups, such as women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, are adequately considered. Additionally, IOM will incorporate climate-adaptive measures to enhance community resilience to climate shocks and disasters. By advancing preparedness, , and fostering community and institutional resilience, IOM Mali aims to reduce disaster risks and protect lives and livelihoods against increasing hazards.
To ensure swift and effective action when shocks occur, activities will include:

• At the community level, strengthening participatory disaster risk management by working with local committees to implement early warning systems, anticipatory actions (AA) and training on contingency planning; and
• Implementing sustainable practices such as reforestation and infrastructure resilience to complement community-based efforts, addressing environmental risks that worsen disaster impacts.

Coordination and site management efforts will be required to provide ongoing support to the DNDS and improve coordination between all relevant stakeholders at the national and sub-national levels. Activities such as site planning, strengthening the technical and logistical capacities of DNDS and supporting the coordination of the humanitarian response in displacement sites will still be needed in 2025, particularly at the large IDP sites in the Gao, Timbuktu and Menaka regions identified by the government, as well as in Mopti, where there is continuous arrival of IDPs still arriving in sites. Activities will include:

• Supporting site-level inclusive governance and participation mechanisms including the roll-out and implementation of accountability to affected populations (AAP) mechanisms (such as complaint and feedback mechanisms), information sharing with communities);
• Implementing maintenance and improvements works to improve living conditions;
• Informing and ensuring solutions are considered from the start and planning for site closure;
• Capacity strengthening in support of local and national actors, including Site Managers on CCCM principles and technical expertise; and
• Conducting awareness-raising sessions and cleaning and maintenance tool kit distribution to IDP and host communities.

IOM continuously supports efforts to set up WASH activities through concrete actions such as: 

• Constructing/rehabilitating water infrastructures (human-powered pumps or improved village water systems) including cash for work; Improvement of village water systems (improving access to water for a greater number of people in areas where the population has increased due to displacement);
• Setting up/revitalizing/training members of water point management committees, ensuring inclusivity so that various population groups are represented and engaged including women, youth and people living with disabilities; 
• Prepositioning WASH supplies in Mopti and Segou and strengthening the capacity of local community members and counterparts; 
• Constructing emergency and sustainable latrine blocks including cash for work; 
• Purchasing latrine maintenance equipment (durable and emergency);
• Conducting training/awareness-raising in basic hygiene and sanitation; 
• Supporting a sustainable economic model of fees for the management of built/rehabilitated facilities; 
• Purchasing toolboxes for water point maintenance; 
• Distribution of WASH kits including MPCA; 
• Conducting hygiene promotion activities targeting communities and schools, addressing the lack of awareness regarding hygiene practices;
• Securing the water chain at the household level; 
• Increasing water storage capacity for beneficiary households; 
• Ensuring compliance with Sphere Standards for water use; and
• Supporting national and local authorities to set up and maintain WASH infrastructure in transitional and post crisis situations.

IOM Mali continues to implement assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) activities. AVRR enables safe and voluntary return of migrants stranded in zones of conflicts or in zones that witnessed natural hazards/shocks. Providing return and reintegration, the programme helps the beneficiaries rebuild their lives, alleviating pressure on host communities/communities of origin and fostering stability in crisis-affected areas. The activities include: 

• Providing pre-departure counseling and coordination with receiving missions;
• Providing transportation assistance; and
• Providing post-arrival assistance (NFI/hygiene kits, shelter, food items) and sustainable reintegration support.

IOM also puts in place protection assistance interventions in IDP sites through protection mainstreaming and protection programming. Activities will include: 

• Restoring family links in collaboration with the Red Cross;
• Conducting regular awareness raising and counselling on thematics such as GBV, risks connected to irregular migration, and psychosocial wellbeing;
• Organizing recreational activities;
• Providing referrals to medical/ PSS and specialized care;
• Providing legal assistance;
• Conducting protection assessments to identify vulnerable populations, their needs, and the risks they face;
• Supporting existing safe spaces for women and girls, children, and other vulnerable groups; 
• Community-based protection: Engaging communities in protection activities; and
• Strengthening the capacity of relevant actors on counter trafficking.

In Mali, IOM continues to be one of the leading actors supporting the Malian government in developing, consolidating and validating the national strategy and policy on MHPSS. IOM is contributing also to the creation of an MHPSS working group led by the government for supporting national coordination and inclusion of different aspects of MHPSS. IOM Mali will continue implementing the following:

• Providing direct mental health and psychosocial assistance to stranded migrants and Malian returnees through the different MHPSS tools and methods;
• Providing referral to specialized mental health care, when needed, to stranded migrants and Malian returnees; and
• Providing individual and group counselling, when needed, to stranded migrants and Malian returnees. 

IOM Mali will seek to diversify its MHPSS portfolio to include interventions in IDP sites, through:

• Providing training for humanitarian actors on psychological first aid (PFA) in IDP sites and in the areas affected by climate change;
• Conducting group and individual counselling sessions with persons in need; 
• Engaging and involving host communities and IDPs to enhance MHPSS and competencies in the communities and strengthen relationships with the agency; 
• Assessing MHPSS needs and resources of people affected by the crisis, especially in IDP sites and host communities; and
• Establishing networks of returnees as peer supporters/mentors who can provide basic emotional and practical support to new returnees.

The implementation of multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) will be guided by a comprehensive approach to ensure effectiveness and sustainability. Collaboration with various partners will be crucial for the success of these programs. These partnerships facilitate the smooth implementation of cash-based interventions. 
The transfer value will align with the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) (as of the latest update in 2022, the MEB is approximately 20,104 XOF per person per month). The MEB is aligned with the defined average monetary value of essential goods and services required by households to meet their basic needs in Mali.

IOM activities will include: 

• Conducting thorough market assessments to understand the local economic conditions and the availability of goods; 
• Conducting cash feasibility studies will be conducted or reviewing recent evaluations to decide the practicality of cash-based interventions in specific regions; and 
• Providing MPCA to help households improve their ability to meet their identified basic needs.

IOM supports humanitarian border management to address new influxes of people fleeing crises. Key actions include: 

• Conducting border management capacity-strengthening to uphold human rights and protect vulnerable groups, including technical trainings; 
• Conducting research on how members of vulnerable communities perceive the security level in their area; 
• Constructing/rehabilitating social services, such as water points, latrines, and solar lighting, particularly at spontaneous migration sites, for communities living along the borders, as well as for individuals in transit within these border areas;
• Implementing screening and referral mechanisms to assist vulnerable individuals, including referral to child protection for unaccompanied children;
• Strengthening mechanisms to assess adherence to migrants’ due rights and to address identified risks of abuse: Supervision and appeal mechanisms will be established to ensure the rigorous implementation of these principles, ensuring access to legal remedies, and ensuring assessments are conducted thoroughly and until completion before formal decisions on migrants’ status are taken;
• Supporting authorities in setting up complaint and feedback mechanisms for reporting rights violations, ensuring secure processes and proper investigation protocols. While IOM will not conduct investigations, it will help authorities establish the necessary systems to handle complaints and ensure accountability.

IOM provides health services for migrants and Malian returnees, addressing urgent needs and promoting well-being. Services include primary health care including MHPSS, maternal and child health care, and referral to specialized care through health system referral mechanism. Health assistance is also integrated into reintegration programmes, recognizing its importance for sustainable reintegration and community cohesion. IOM will enhance access to health services for vulnerable populations, focusing on the minimum service package comprising of maternal and child health, mental health, and immunization through:

• Increasing compliance and attendance for routine immunizations through risk communication, community engagement, and health facilities orientation;
• Strengthening drug supply chains to ensure quality medicines in remote areas;
• Identifying zero-dose children using population mobility mapping using the IOM's health border and mobility management framework;
• Improving health promotion and diseases prevention activities in IDP sites;
• Improving access to routine immunization services for mobile populations, zero-dose children, host communities and hard-to-reach populations, using mobile clinics and community health workers;
• Supporting health facilities by providing basic equipment and trainings to enhance health care service delivery;
• Conducting research and gathering data to inform strategic decision-making during epidemics in humanitarian sites (IDP sites and cross border areas) affected by conflicts or natural hazards);
• Strengthening border health and mobility management capacities through trainings, tools, and resources to enhance diseases surveillance at port of entries in line with the international health regulation;
• Developing and consolidating partnerships for coordinated health and border management; and
• Facilitating stakeholder networking to promote integrated and collaborative approaches.

In Mali, DTM tools (mobility tracking and registration) and capacities were transferred to the National Directorate for Social Development (DNDS) in 2014. In 2025, IOM will continue to support the DNDS both financially and at the technical level through:

• Strengthening DNDS data collection, analysis, and management for efficient DTM implementation, with IOM support;
• Continuing to gather data on climate related mobility, to orient crisis response and tailored interventions;
• Supporting DNDS in applying DTM tools, expanding analysis, geographic coverage, and reporting frequency;
• Regularly monitoring displacement trends, locations, and access to services, identifying gaps and needs of displaced and vulnerable populations through DTM's mobility tracking tool;
• Enhancing DNDS capacity to collect data on basic services, needs, and displacement profiles across Mali via DTM’s multi-sectoral location assessments (MSLA);
• Expanding the use of IOM’s biometric registration system (BRaVE) in communes hosting large IDP populations;
• Using the Solution and Mobility Index (DTM tool) to assess stability in displacement areas, supporting durable solutions and integrated programming for return/local integration and areas;
• Conducting surveys on durable solutions in protracted displacement areas, focusing on income generation, social cohesion, and community stabilization; and
• With the support of TASSAGHT, an NGO working on pastoralism, monitoring transhumance movements and profiles in Kayes, Sikasso, Mopti regions using the Transhumance Tracking Tool (TTT), providing detailed data to inform conflict prevention and tailored responses.

IOM recognizes the importance of evidence-based solutions, conducting research, data collection, and analysis to better understand migration dynamics, trends, and challenges.  In this regard, IOM will focus on: 

• Continuing its study to identify and understand gaps to legal identity and protection needs of migrants in vulnerable situations.  The results of this study will be disseminated at national and local levels and will contribute to informing the development of programmes focused on enhancing migrants’ access to rights and services;   
• Continuing to provide technical support to the government counterparts to increase access to legal identity by enhancing national supports for civil registration and identity management systems to guarantee legal identity, reducing vulnerabilities and fostering social inclusion;
• Maintaining the dialogue with the consular missions to ensure protection mainstreaming and protection principles are respected for the service of vulnerable migrants; and  
• Reinforcing the consular missions' capacities on the different protection thematic areas, such as PSEAH, counter-trafficking, child protection, MHPSS and GBV.  

Community stabilization is one of the key priorities for IOM Mali in 2025 and especially stabilization in areas with scarcity of resources including water.

IOM Mali will prioritize the following initiatives:

• Developing the skills and knowledge of national authorities, primarily law enforcement authorities, and communities in communication and mediation, conflict resolution, and effective approaches to address the concerns and issues of communities;
• Rehabilitating transhumance corridors including supporting the restoration and sustainable management of key transhumance routes through a community-based approach. This includes engaging community leaders, facilitating dialogues to identify key infrastructure, mitigate conflicts, and ensure resource availability;
• Strengthening the network, effectiveness and inclusiveness of community-based mechanisms for managing conflicts around water resources;
• Informing and explaining the roles and missions of Administrative Authorities and the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) to border communities to enhance communication and collaboration among stakeholders for a participatory management of the border areas in the Kadiolo district;
• Strengthening cross-border cooperation in transboundary areas by supporting the activities of Local Cross-Border Cooperation Groups (GLCT), particularly by facilitating the establishment of Cross-Border Committees for Conflict Prevention and Management; and
• Enhancing communication and interactions between the DFS and communities by supporting the Security Advisory Councils or Community Prevention Committees (CPC) established by IOM, to promote community engagement on security-related issues, including health and humanitarian concerns in the affected border areas.

IOM will work on enhancing safety and security through a people-centered approach that foresee collaboration between communities and state authorities:

• Supporting authorities to adopt a people-centered, proactive, and preventive policing approach, focused on promoting human rights, the rule of law, and the safety and security of the population;
• Facilitating the involvement of community stakeholders in migration and border governance through increased collaboration between the community and state authorities, including both law enforcement and administrative and technical services;
• Supporting the facilitation of trade and development, and the restoration of accountable institutions, with a view to bolstering the legitimacy of national law enforcement actors in particular in the eyes of the public;
• Where appropriate and upon request from authorities, supporting trust-building activities to improve and solidify good rapport between state authorities, law enforcement agencies, and the community; and
• Strengthening communication capabilities and coordination between communities and authorities to effectively relay community concerns to law enforcement and other state stakeholders, and to establish priorities for local crime prevention strategies.

Mali, due to its particular geographical location and the diversity of its socio-cultural, political-economic and cooperation relations, is a space of mobility, mixing and integration of populations. This situation makes Mali a country of destination, departure, transit, and return of migrants. In this framework, IOM Mali will continue to implement the Transit Centre (TC)/Reception Centre, which is a unique facility with secure access that gives IOM and relevant partners a large responsibility to fully assist all beneficiaries, such as Malian returnees and international migrants that are eligible within the framework of AVRR/VHR, by offering them a range of necessary services. The responsibility is shared between IOM Units and partners to provide the highest level of service to beneficiaries. Services include:

• Providing medical assistance;
• Providing individual and group counselling to beneficiaries;
• Providing food and clean, secure, and safe temporary accommodation; 
• Providing transportation services to reach the final destination; and
• Purchasing flight tickets for international migrants in transit in Mali, to allow return and reintegration.

Promoting peaceful coexistence and mitigating conflict remain key priorities for IOM Mali. IOM Mali will focus on the following initiatives:

• Early Warning Systems: Implementing conflict prevention tools in localities prone to tension, such as those affected by the passage of transhumant pastoralists;
• Organizing information and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent conflict in areas with high transhumance movement;
• Water Resource Management: Developing programmes to address tensions arising from water scarcity by rehabilitating water points, promoting sustainable water use. IOM will build and rehabilitate hydraulic structures tailored to local needs while strengthening the technical and material capacities of conflict prevention structures related to water management. IOM will establish early warning and community monitoring mechanisms, organize cross-border communication campaigns on the sustainable management of shared water resources, and support the development and reinforcement of local conventions for resource governance in transboundary areas; 
• Strengthening the capacity of local authorities and community leaders to prevent and manage conflict through the organization of trainings on conflict resolution, inclusive governance, and human rights;
• Promoting healing and peaceful coexistence in communities affected by conflict through the organization of workshops, storytelling events, and trust-building activities.

By facilitating access to regular migration pathways to individuals affected by crisis, IOM aims to create opportunities to recover from the impacts of conflicts, environmental disasters and economic instability. Moreover, the involvement of the Malian diaspora is crucial to provide essential support through remittances, investments, and the transfer of knowledge and skills. IOM leverages this connection by fostering synergies between the diaspora and local development efforts, encouraging them to contribute to recovery and stabilization initiatives.

To this end, IOM activities in 2025 will include: 

• Strengthening national migration policies to better promote labour mobility and promote migration as an enabler for development in crisis contexts;
• Fostering synergies between labour migration and development, and promote legal labour migration channels as an alternative to irregular migration, by supporting the Government of Mali in promoting safe labour migration practices for all Malians especially for those affected by conflicts and disasters;
• Strengthening strategies for mobilizing the Malian diaspora to support local development in crisis contexts;
• Supporting the government in revising national employment policies and labour codes to bring them into line with African Union and ECOWAS provisions on the free movement of people; and 
• Undertaking research that highlights the economic gains from increased labour mobility, skills gaps in the labour market and skills in a post-crisis context.

In Mali, IOM focuses on supporting the implementation of the GCM and the National Migration Policy and its work plan to ensure that migration is managed in a way that supports stability, recovery, and long-term development. To this end, IOM activities will include: 

• Supporting the development of a national gender and migration work plan, contributing to the national migration policy and national gender policy; 
• Supporting the authorities in the development of strategic and scoping documents to better strengthen humanitarian coordination and assistance in displacement sites;
• Supporting the revitalization of migration consultation frameworks at the regional level to allow greater involvement of actors at different levels in the PONAM review processes and to take into account gender issues included in crisis response mechanisms; 
• Supporting the UN working groups and the National Frameworks on Migration to strengthen migration governance and crisis response efforts.
• Supporting the review of the Migration Governance Indicators and the production of a Migratory Profile for Mali, including consideration of the mobility dimensions of crisis; and
• Supporting the national strategy on durable solutions, for which multiple workshops were held, to draft key strategic documents and establish a structured coordination mechanism. These documents were developed jointly by IOM, UNHCR, the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), and representatives of the Malian government, with dedicated workshops held in Ségou and Bamako.