Backgrounder

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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New development projects in African Francophonie countries

October 24, 2010
Montreux, Switzerland

On October 23, the Government of Canada announced the following nine new projects in African Francophonie countries. The projects focus on Canada's key priority themes for effective aid: increasing food security, securing the future of children and youth and stimulating sustainable economic growth.

Food Security Projects:

• The Support To Food Security And Nutrition Project in Senegal ($5 million over two years) aims to reduce undernourishment and chronic hunger for 266,000 people through cereal banks, food-for-work programs, rehabilitation of agricultural lands, reforestation and environment protection work. The implementing agency is the World Food Programme.

• The Pan-African Agriculture Program ($3 million over three years) in Africa-wide funding aims to help over 100,000 small-scale farmers and pastoralists use improved livestock and crop production methods, sustainable land and water management practices. The funding will also help close to 200 farmers' organizations develop and disseminate agricultural information and practices to their members. The implementing agency is the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development.

Children and Youth Projects:

•The International Youth Internship Program to Burkina Faso ($90,000 over 12 months) aims for six Canadian interns to support local organizations in private sector development and environmental sustainability. The implementing agency is the Centre de Solidarité Internationale du Saguenay/ Lac St-Jean.

• The International Youth Internship Program to Mali ($90,000 over 12 months) aims for six Canadian interns to support local organizations in providing for the nutritional needs of vulnerable populations. The implementing agency is the Comité de Solidarité / Trois-Rivières.

• The Project To Combat Violence Against Girls And Young Women In The Great Lakes Region ($13.5 million over seven years) aims to better protect up to 700,000 girls and young women in the region from the physical and psychological effects of sexual violence. The Centre for International Studies and Cooperation will work with the Collective of coalitions of associations working for the advancement of women in the Great Lakes region (COCAFEM/GL) in implementing this project. Together they will work on protocols to assist victims, and raise community awareness towards victims through education, training and a policy dialogue.

Sustainable Economic Growth Projects:

• The extension of the Niger River Basin Authority Capacity Building Program ($5.95 million additional funding over four years) aims to improve water management, thereby contributing to the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the Niger River for agricultural production, fisheries, transportation, energy production, employment and income. The Niger Basin Authority will engage users of the natural resources of the Niger Basin as well as member nations through organizational, material and financial support to gain effective participation in Integrated Water Resources Management.

• The Support For Benin's Microfinance Sector Project ($12.1 million over seven years) aims for the provision of better access to financial services to one million people, which is 20 per cent of the adult population. Développement International Desjardins will work to strengthen the government's ability to control microfinance activity in Benin, thereby increasing savings security for low-income households. This will help some microfinance institutions in extending their reach to clients and providing better services tailored to the needs of the economy. The project will also help a group of credit unions in creating a financial centre for entrepreneurship that will finance small businesses that lack access to commercial banks.

• The Congo Basin Regional Program to Support the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) ($7.80 million over six years) aims to coordinate sub-regional initiatives pertaining to the conservation and sustainable management of the Congo Basin forests. By doing so, the economic growth of Congo basin countries will be strengthened through sustainable management of natural resources and their derived products such as timber, ecotourism, medicinal products and agroforestry. Canada is providing support for the Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, an association of 54 governmental, nongovernmental and international organizations that work in close relationship with the COMIFAC to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the Congo Basin's forest ecosystems in order to protect the region's biodiversity, promote good forest governance and improve the population's living standards.

• The Strengthening Higher Education In Stakeholder Relations In Africa Project ($2.2 million over three years) in Africa-wide funding aims to align university strategic efforts with local socio-economic development priorities, and strengthen the Association of African Universities' Secretariat and its member institutions to enhance their ability to work with stakeholders and address local and national development challenges. The implementing agency is the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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