The Challenge

As a result of the ongoing conflict, explosive ordnance are widespread in Northern-Central Mali. This threat has been evolving in recent years with increased use of IEDs by armed actors, injuring and killing more and more civilians. (119 civilian casualties in 2021 vs 64 in 2014 [UNMAS, 2022]).

Objectives: Civilians in Mali practice protective behaviours against explosive hazards to enhance the safety of civilians in Mali.

Project Objectives

To foster adoption of protective behaviours by civilians against explosive ordnance, thanks to mainstreaming SBC approach in EORE programming.

1. Research & Analysis: Analyse people in Mopti and Gao’s behaviours related to explosive ordnance, with a detailed attention to each different public and the diversity of different determinants. Our document illustrated the key social and behavioural barriers and drivers that affect Malian’s knowledge and decisions toward explosive hazards.

2. Strategy Development: Based on that situational analysis, we developed a social and behaviour change communication approach to redesign Risk Education to improve practices of safe behaviours regarding explosive hazards in Mali.

Methodology

1. Research & Analysis

   • Desk review & consultations

   • Asset Audit

   • Data collection:

     • 6 FGDs (Men, Women,Children (mixed))

     • 10 KIIs across 2 communities (5 per community)

     • EORE implementing partners

     • Community & religious leaders

     • Teachers / educators

     • + 2 extra KII with community leaders

   • Media landscape

   • Participative workshop with stakeholders

2. Strategy Development

   • Workshop facilitation

     • Strategy Development Workshop: The Humanitarian Mine Action Working Group composed of UNMAS and all the relevant NGOs working in that sector. Individuals from the civil society, able to bring their personal perspective and to think outside the box.

   • Strategy development, with the solicitation of the Humanitarian Mine Action Working Group.

Our Results

1. Research & Analysis:

   • We discovered that there was a gap between injunctive norms and what the communities reported favoring or doing.

   • For instance, individuals feared that they had social & familial pressure to go to their workplace, while when asked other individuals from the community, these people were saying that the most important thing to do to help the community was to stay alive.

   • The perception of heroism and masculinity were driving some of the risky behaviours.

2. Strategy Development:

   • Based on that main finding, we developed our strategy around the following tagline “Those who protect the lives of others, as well as their own lives, are true heroes. Let us celebrate them!”

   • We conceived a series of activities to be implemented both at community and national level, through community outreach and online/offline communication.

   • We designed an implementation plan and developed a timeline for 3 years of activities with a staggered approach, based on J.O. Prochaska and C.C. Di Clemente’s trans-theorical model theory.

A few words from the FGDs

Religious leader, Bardé Camp, Mopti:

• “We check where to put our feet, to avoid travelling too much between villages, to communicate, to never touch a suspicious object while walking and to inform the village chief or his advisors quickly. However, some people go so far as to take these REG objects and sell them to scrap dealers out of poverty.”

• “A person who takes the risk when they know well what situation they are in, they are simply being stubborn, irresponsible. If they don’t go out to work, how will their family feed themselves? On the other hand, other people take advantage of this to create other, more secure paths. Some people in this community also take advantage of the situation by collecting ERW to sell it.”

Community leader, Ansongo, Gao:

• “The women are more exposed because of their tasks. They are the ones providing cow dung, wood etc. The tasks are numerous. The roads they use are often mined .”

• “Yes, there are people who believe they are protected. The man does not reflect on what he’s doing, that’s brainwashing. He get told “Do this and you get into heaven”. His beliefs make him, take life of his peer. People who are curious, daring, reckless, they think they are protected. But the device does not function like that, it only destroys whoever touches it.”

SBC activities

Development of a drama (Tales, Theatre, Radio…)

1. 4 months pilot campaign.

2. Reinforcing EORE activities of the NGO with women’s share, marital dialogue, children and young people, artistic expression.

3. Creation of formal and informal discussion spaces to share information on explosive devices.

4. Women’s training: Public speaking, planning, to equip them with skills to enhance their participation in decision-making that affects security.