Infirmaries in three Malian garrisons built with European funds. First steps of CBSD

(B2) The European Union is going to equip certain bases of the Malian armed forces (FAMa) with a garrison infirmary. Starting with Nampala, in the center of Mali, 500 km from Bamako

A project funded by the CBSD

The Nampala site, which hosts a detachment of the Malian armed forces (FAMa), will be completed with a garrison infirmary, open to soldiers and civilians. A project funded under CBSD, the EU's new financial instrument, which enables the financing of military actors in third countries for the purpose of carrying out development activities ". (Read : CBSD device adopted. The final touch…). This ambitious project will take shape in three different cities, including Nampala, and will cost 3 to 4 million euros.

Plans under consideration

In early August, two officers from the European Training Mission for the Malian Armed Forces (EUTM Mali), a specialist from Expertise France and a Malian soldier from the Central Directorate of the Armed Forces Health Service (DCSSA) went to the site, as specifies it mission. A visit by helicopter, the only safe way to get around the camp. Objective: to have the latest technical and topographical information to define the plans for the future infirmary.

A mixed civilian and military infirmary

It was also a question of evaluating the security conditions that will have to be taken into account for the construction of the building and its accesses, finally: specifying the local care offer as well as the profile of the beneficiary population. Because the interest of this infirmary is to serve not only the garrison, but also the civilian population. This complicates the work of the people responsible for designing this new infrastructure.

Security conditions to be studied closely

The town of Nampala, located in the Segou region, about 500 km from Bamako, was the target of several attacks. In January 2015, the city was taken by jihadists killing a dozen soldiers. A year later, on July 19, 2016, the barracks themselves were targeted. In a fairly sophisticated attack, carried out with several heavily armed pick-ups and motorcycles, several rebel groups managed to take control of the camp for several hours. In the end, they left 17 killed and 37 wounded in the ranks of the Malian army. On May 2, 2017, a FAMa supply mission was ambushed on the road between Nampala and Dogofri, killing nine soldiers and wounding five.

(NGV, with Aurélie Pugnet st.)