In May 2013, France launched the Initiative Solidarité Santé Sahel1 (I3S) aimed at facilitating financial access to healthcare for children in Sahelian countries by supporting politically committed countries in setting up solidarity-based healthcare access systems. Of the six countries initially targeted (Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania), only the first four have benefited from the initiative. I3S is financed by the Fonds de solidarité pour le développement to the tune of 30 million euros. Funds are managed by the AFD in accordance with the procedures applied to projects financed under program 209.
This report assesses not only the projects themselves, but also their environment, and thus the policies of free services targeting women and children in these countries.