Call for Strategic Partners on Food Security and Resilience (Mali)

The World Food Programme (WFP) is seeking strategic partners to implement integrated emergency, recovery, and resilience interventions for vulnerable communities in priority regions of Mali. The opportunity supports food security, nutrition, livelihood protection, resilience building, and national capacity development under the Mali Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2027–2031.

About the WFP Mali Strategic Partnership Opportunity

The World Food Programme has operated in Mali since 1964, working with the Government and other partners to address food insecurity, malnutrition, humanitarian emergencies, and vulnerability.

The new partnership opportunity reflects WFP’s integrated approach to humanitarian and development programming. Rather than focusing only on immediate food assistance, interventions are expected to connect emergency response, livelihood protection, early recovery, and long-term resilience.

The partnership opportunity is aligned with the WFP Mali Country Strategic Plan 2027–2031, which seeks to address immediate humanitarian needs while strengthening the capacity of vulnerable households and communities to withstand future shocks.

Why It Matters

Mali continues to face recurrent shocks that affect food security, nutrition, livelihoods, and community resilience. Vulnerable households may experience multiple pressures simultaneously, making integrated programming important for reducing long-term dependence on humanitarian assistance.

Through this partnership opportunity, WFP aims to support interventions that:

Address immediate food security and nutrition needs.
Protect vulnerable livelihoods.
Support early recovery following shocks.
Strengthen community resilience.
Improve sustainable access to food and income.
Strengthen national and local capacities.
Promote gender equality and protection.
Improve accountability to affected populations.
Prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.

Mali Country Strategic Plan 2027–2031

The Mali CSP 2027–2031 is organized around three interconnected pillars.

Saving Lives and Preserving Livelihoods

This pillar focuses on addressing urgent humanitarian needs while protecting the livelihoods of vulnerable households affected by conflict, food insecurity, displacement, economic shocks, and other emergencies.

Potential interventions may include:

Emergency food assistance.
Nutrition support.
Livelihood protection.
Assistance to vulnerable households.
Support during acute food security crises.

Strengthening Resilience

The resilience pillar focuses on helping communities reduce vulnerability to recurring shocks.

Projects may seek to:

Strengthen sustainable livelihoods.
Improve food security.
Support community-based resilience initiatives.
Protect productive assets.
Improve access to sustainable income opportunities.
Strengthen communities’ ability to recover from shocks.

Developing National Capacities

The third pillar focuses on strengthening national systems and institutions so that Mali can improve its ability to address food insecurity and nutrition challenges over the long term.

Activities may contribute to:

Strengthening national food security systems.
Improving institutional capacity.
Supporting government-led programmes.
Developing sustainable approaches to food and nutrition security.
Strengthening coordination and implementation capacity.

Who Is Eligible?

WFP is seeking strategic partners capable of implementing integrated emergency, recovery, and resilience interventions in priority areas of Mali.

Potential partners should demonstrate the capacity to deliver high-quality programmes addressing food security, nutrition, livelihoods, and resilience.

Strong proposals should demonstrate:

Relevant technical expertise.
Experience implementing community-based programmes.
Capacity to operate in the proposed intervention areas.
Strong financial and administrative systems.
Ability to manage humanitarian and development activities.
Understanding of food security and nutrition challenges.
Capacity to integrate gender and protection considerations.
Commitment to accountability to affected populations.
Measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.
Alignment with WFP’s Mali CSP 2027–2031.

The opportunity is intended for organizations capable of functioning as implementation and strategic partners, rather than for individuals seeking personal funding.

What Types of Activities Can Be Supported?

The partnership opportunity covers integrated interventions that connect humanitarian assistance with recovery and resilience.

Potential areas include:

Food security: Activities that improve access to adequate and nutritious food.
Nutrition: Interventions addressing malnutrition and nutrition vulnerabilities.
Livelihood protection: Assistance designed to protect or restore household income and productive capacity.
Emergency response: Support for communities experiencing acute shocks.
Early recovery: Activities that help communities transition from emergency assistance toward recovery.
Resilience: Community-level initiatives that reduce vulnerability to future shocks.
National capacity development: Activities that strengthen local and national systems.

The exact activities and geographic priorities should be determined according to the applicable WFP solicitation and identified needs in the selected regions.

Geographic Focus

The opportunity targets priority regions of Mali identified within WFP’s programming framework.

Organizations should ensure that proposed interventions are relevant to the needs of the communities and locations targeted by the applicable partnership opportunity.

Projects should demonstrate a clear connection between:

local needs → proposed intervention → expected food security or resilience outcome.

Key Cross-Cutting Requirements

WFP expects partners to integrate important cross-cutting principles into programme design and implementation.

Gender Integration

Projects should consider the different needs and vulnerabilities of women, men, girls, and boys and incorporate gender-responsive approaches where appropriate.

Protection

Protection considerations should be integrated into programme planning and implementation to help ensure that assistance does not expose affected people to additional risks.

Accountability to Affected Populations

Partners should establish mechanisms that allow communities and beneficiaries to:

Receive accurate information.
Provide feedback.
Raise concerns.
Participate appropriately in programme processes.
Report problems safely.

Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Partners are expected to maintain appropriate safeguards to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse and to ensure that affected populations have access to safe reporting mechanisms.

How to Develop a Strong Partnership Proposal

Organizations interested in the opportunity should structure their proposal around the needs and priorities identified by WFP.

Step 1: Understand the WFP Mali CSP

Review the priorities of the Mali Country Strategic Plan 2027–2031 and identify how the organization’s expertise can contribute to its three pillars.

Step 2: Identify the Target Community and Problem

Clearly define:

Where the intervention will take place.
Who will benefit.
What food security, nutrition, livelihood, or resilience problem exists.
Why the problem requires intervention.
What evidence supports the proposed approach.

Step 3: Design an Integrated Intervention

Avoid presenting disconnected activities. Explain how emergency assistance, livelihood protection, recovery, and resilience activities can complement one another.

For example, an intervention could connect immediate food assistance with livelihood recovery and longer-term resilience measures.

Step 4: Define Measurable Results

Proposals should establish clear expected results and explain how progress will be measured.

Useful indicators may relate to:

Food security.
Nutrition outcomes.
Household livelihoods.
Resilience.
Community participation.
Access to services.
Capacity development.

Step 5: Demonstrate Organizational Capacity

Applicants should clearly present their:

Previous relevant experience.
Technical team.
Financial management systems.
Monitoring and evaluation capacity.
Local presence.
Partnerships and community relationships.
Risk-management systems.

Step 6: Integrate Protection and Accountability

Explain how the project will incorporate gender, protection, accountability to affected populations, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse throughout implementation.

Step 7: Submit a Technically and Financially Strong Proposal

WFP will expect proposals to demonstrate both technical quality and financial quality.

The budget should therefore be realistic, justified, and directly connected to the proposed activities and expected results.

What WFP Is Looking For

A competitive proposal should demonstrate five important characteristics:

Strong alignment with the Mali CSP 2027–2031.
Clear evidence of community need in the proposed intervention area.
Integrated programming connecting emergency assistance, recovery, livelihoods, and resilience.
Strong implementation and financial capacity.
Measurable and sustainable results for vulnerable populations.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Organizations preparing a proposal should avoid:

Proposing activities that do not clearly align with WFP priorities.
Focusing exclusively on short-term assistance without a pathway toward recovery or resilience.
Providing weak evidence of local needs.
Using an unrealistic or poorly justified budget.
Failing to explain the organization’s implementation capacity.
Treating gender and protection as separate activities rather than cross-cutting considerations.
Omitting accountability and feedback mechanisms.
Providing vague or difficult-to-measure outcomes.
Ignoring prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse requirements.

Key Details at a Glance

Organization: World Food Programme (WFP)
Country: Mali
Strategic framework: Mali Country Strategic Plan 2027–2031
Target population: Vulnerable communities and households in priority regions
Main areas: Food security, nutrition, livelihoods, emergency response, recovery, resilience, and national capacity
Partnership type: Strategic implementation partnership
Core principles: Gender integration, protection, accountability to affected populations, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse
Target period: 2027–2031 CSP framework

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the WFP Mali Strategic Partnership Opportunity?

It is an opportunity for capable organizations to partner with WFP to implement integrated emergency, recovery, and resilience interventions for vulnerable communities in priority regions of Mali.

What are the main priorities of the programme?

The programme focuses on saving lives and protecting livelihoods, strengthening resilience, and developing national capacities. Food security, nutrition, livelihood protection, and sustainable community development are central areas.

Who can apply for the WFP partnership opportunity?

WFP is seeking strategic partners with the technical, financial, operational, and organizational capacity to implement relevant interventions in Mali. Applicants should demonstrate experience and alignment with WFP’s priorities.

What types of projects are relevant?

Relevant projects may address emergency food assistance, nutrition, livelihood protection, early recovery, resilience building, and national capacity development, provided they align with WFP’s priorities and the applicable solicitation.

Does the programme support only emergency interventions?

No. The approach connects emergency response with recovery and resilience. WFP seeks interventions that address immediate needs while helping vulnerable communities reduce their longer-term vulnerability.

What cross-cutting issues should proposals address?

Proposals should incorporate gender, protection, accountability to affected populations, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse into programme design and implementation.

How should organizations prepare a proposal?

Organizations should review the applicable WFP solicitation, assess the needs of the proposed target communities, demonstrate relevant experience and capacity, design an integrated intervention aligned with the CSP, establish measurable results, and provide a realistic and justified budget.

Conclusion

The WFP Mali Strategic Partnership Opportunity provides organizations with an opportunity to contribute to integrated solutions for food security, nutrition, livelihood protection, emergency response, and community resilience.

The strongest proposals will demonstrate a clear understanding of local needs, strong alignment with the Mali Country Strategic Plan 2027–2031, credible implementation capacity, measurable outcomes, and meaningful integration of gender, protection, accountability, and safeguarding principles.