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

Deadline: 10-Sep-26

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. 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. 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