The second round-table on the Safer Access Framework took place in Bamako in October 2016; it was hosted by the Mali Red Cross. Nine French-speaking African Red Cross Societies – from Cameroon, Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic – were represented; as were four partner National Societies – from Canada, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands – and ICRC delegations from West Africa and central Africa. The round-table enabled National Societies to discuss the obstacles to applying the framework: the difficulty of ensuring respect for the emblem and of adhering to the Fundamental Principles came up frequently. The round-table was also an opportunity for the National Societies to learn from each other’s experiences, share good practices and work towards coordinating support for implementing the framework in their countries.

The third day of the round-table was devoted to the Health Care in Danger project; participants acknowledged the closeness of the links between it and the Safer Access Framework, and discussed how the various components of the Movement could work together to lobby for greater protection for National Society staff and health-care workers operating in uncertain security conditions.

The round-table yielded a final document, which contained participants’ recommendations and their pledges to do more to promote the Safer Access Framework and the Health Care in Danger project, and to establish, with the ICRC’s support, mechanisms to monitor progress until the next round-table in 2017.