CLA's Essential Role in Supporting Racial and Ethnic Equity

In April 2024, USAID/Mali successfully employed CLA in its Racial and Ethnic Equity (REE) self-assessment process using the REE Maturity Tool, which is modeled on the CLA Self-Assessment and Action Planning process. This REE self-assessment was carried out with support from the USAID/Washington Inclusive Development Hub, the Bureau for Planning, Learning, and Resource Management’s Collaboration, Learning and Adapting Practice Area, and the USAID Mali Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Platform, implemented by Social Impact. Two CLA Framework subcomponents; Pause & Reflect, and Openness were especially important in ensuring the success of the REE self-assessment and planning process. 

The need for integrating REE into Mission programming was driven by Mali’s exceptional socio-economic context characterized by conflict and insecurity that prevents certain groups of people from getting assistance. Despite its efforts to promote inclusiveness through its cross-cutting objective of including women, children, youth, and marginalized communities, the Mission Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) does not clearly address REE. The use of CLA for the Mission’s self-assessment was therefore a unique opportunity to tackle REE issues. 

In Mali, social practices, such as slavery affecting the Bella community, insecurity, and the nomadic lifestyle of certain communities surfaced as situations that need to go beyond Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) and call for REE integration. As a result, the Mission developed six priority action plans for immediate implementation and revised its PMP to include REE.