Mariama Suzanne Konaté Maïga (born 1956) is a

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

medical doctor and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

administrator who served as Mali's secretary of state for social action and the promotion of women from 1991 to 92. She also worked for the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

(c. 1993 – 2016).

Early life, family and education

Suzanne Maïga was born in 1956 in

Ségou Ségou (; , ) is a town and an Communes of Mali, urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 inhabitant ...

, Mali, to Attaher Maïga, who served as the Malian finance minister (1959–66) and minister of commerce (1966–68). Her older sister, Keïta Aminata Maiga, was married to the former Malian president,

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (; 29 January 1945 – 16 January 2022), often known by his initials IBK, was a Malian politician who served as the president of Mali from September 2013 to August 2020, when he was forced to resign in the 2020 Malian cou ...

(1945–2022), and served as

First Lady of Mali First Lady of Mali (French: ''Première dame du Mali'') is the title held by the wife of the president of Mali, concurrent with the president's term of office. The present first lady is Lala Diallo, wife of interim President Assimi Goïta, who ha ...

(2013–20).Anon (29 July 2017)
En 57 ans d'indépendance: Le Mali a connu 57 femmes ministres
''Aujourd'hui-Mali'' (accessed 28 December 2021) Her medical degree is from the École Nationale de Médecine et de Pharmacie,

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

(1979). Her other qualifications include a

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

from

Pierre and Marie Curie University Pierre and Marie Curie University ( , UPMC), also known as Paris VI, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, Paris, and a

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

certificate in

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

and disease control.

Career

After working at Bamako's Centre for Family Health (1980–84), Maïga joined Mali's Direction Nationale de la Santé Publique (National Directorate of Public Health) in 1985, where she directed the epidemiology section (1985–87) and the family health division (1987–88). Her work there included coordinating control programmes for

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and

bilharzia Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects the urinary tract or the intestines ...

, and examining the impact of the Sélingué Dam. She then directed the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

's operations in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

(1988–90). Maïga served as secretary of state for social action and the promotion of women ("l'Action sociale et à la Promotion féminine") from 27 December 1991 to 14 May 1992. After leaving office, Maïga married Hamidou Konaté, formerly the Malian minister of solidarity and humanitarian action. From around 1993 to 2016, Konaté Maïga worked for the

(UNFPA), the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

agency for

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's Human reproductive system, reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Se ...

, as its representative in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, for example, drawing attention to the high risk of

maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to p ...

in Côte d'Ivoire. and the low uptake of

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

in Senegal.Maïmouna Gueye, Idrissa Sane
Suzanne Maïga Konate, représentante résidente sortante de l'UNFPA Senegal: "Nous devons nous focaliser sur les 39% de femmes qui n'accèdent pas aux services de Planification familiale"
''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

'' (accessed 28 December 2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maïga, Suzanne Konaté Living people 1956 births Pierre and Marie Curie University alumni Ministers of finance of Mali Trade ministers of Mali Women government ministers of Mali Malian public health doctors 20th-century Malian people 20th-century Malian women 21st-century Malian people United Nations Population Fund 20th-century Malian women politicians 20th-century Malian politicians Women public health doctors