The Bamako Initiative was a formal statement adopted by

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n health ministers in 1987 in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, to implement strategies designed to increase the availability of essential drugs and other healthcare services for

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

ns. The idea as proposed by

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

's executive director, James P. Grant, was for UNICEF and other donors to supply drugs to countries which would be sold a little above cost. The profits from these sales would be used to buy more drugs in a self-sustaining way. By 1988, 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were making plans. A Health Policy and Planning article by Hardon (1990; 5: 186-189) describes the initiative as follows:

Measures

The Bamako Initiative proposed decentralising health decision making to local levels and establishing realistic national drug policies to enhance the provision of essential drugs for Sub-Saharan Africans.

Challenges

There were several problems with the initiative such as discrimination against the poorest, a national health care dependent on the sale of drugs, and the requirement of foreign currency to import drugs versus an income in local currency. Health Action International an NGO working in health policy started discussion forums around the continent to encourage discussion and address these and other issues with the initiative.

References

External links

UNICEF - The Bamako Initiative
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* World Health Organization Health in Africa History of Bamako 1987 in Africa 1980s in Mali {{Mali-stub