Five-year USAID Salam Project will improve social cohesion in conflict-affected areas of central Mali by supporting peacebuilding and livelihood resilience in 225 villages in Ségou and Mopti. The project will implement holistic community-led peacebuilding interventions to promote sustainability and achieve two intermediate outcomes:

1) Empowering communities to prevent and resolve conflicts, and

2) The increased capacity of households to meet their urgent needs.

This project’s approach is rooted in the understanding that to impact the conflict system, participants must include community members who play a key role in resolving the conflict; reach a sufficiently large segment of the conflict-affected population to change their attitudes, perceptions and beliefs towards each other; and lead change in socio-political institutions and practices to achieve peace. As such, USAID Salam’s peacebuilding interventions will strengthen and develop social capital at individual and institutional levels to prevent and resolve conflict, while increasing the participation of women and youth in interventions. The project will increase women’s economic power and amplify their role in promoting social cohesion through unconditional cash transfers that build livelihood resilience and relieve family pressure that increases vulnerability to conflict.