Emergency Trust Fund for Africa: the EU mobilises €52.5 million to support resilience, jobs and stability in the Sahel and Lake Chad region
The European Union is mobilising an additional €52.5 million to support new and ongoing programmes in the Sahel and Lake Chad region under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF).
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen i,said:“The prosperity and security of the European Union is closely linked to that of the Sahel. The new programmes approved under the Trust Fund for Africa, worth €52.5 million, will focus on increasing resilience, employment and stability in the Sahel and Lake Chad region, while also contributing to the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Together with our partner countries we are addressing their most pressing needs and providing the necessary assistance to respond to the evolving situation, in particular for the most vulnerable.”
Support to new and ongoing programmes
In Niger, two new programmes in the Western region were adopted. An €8 million programme will contribute to strengthening economic resilience in Tillabéry, addressing the needs of young people in particular. The second programme, worth €7 million, will promote sound management of natural resources, biodiversity and the resilience of agro-pastoral communities.
In Burkina Faso, a new programme amounting to €7 million will support the deployment of several units of the National Gendarmerie to secure volatile areas in the Sahel region. This will contribute to the stabilisation of the country by promoting a return to security and the presence of civil administration, public services and economic activities.
In Chad, the well-progressing ongoing programme to strengthen resilience and support local communities will be topped up with an additional €4.25 million.
In North Mali, an additional €10 million will strengthen a security and border management support programme. The aim is to set up three secure and equipped camps within the secure development and governance hubs (pôles sécurisés de développement et de gouvernance).
In Mali, a top-up of €5 million will enable quick impact and development actions to strengthen trust between the internal security forces and populations near the secure development and governance hubs.
Global response to the coronavirus pandemic
The EU i Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) programmes are also supporting the ‘Team Europe' global response to the coronavirus crisis, which combines resources from the EU, its Member States and financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, focusing on some of the most vulnerable communities in the context of migration and forced displacement.
The following new and reoriented programmes will help tackle the health and economic consequences of the pandemic in the Sahel and Lake Chad region:
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-In Guinea, the new RESIGUI programme worth €8 million will help stabilise the food and nutritional status of 20,000 households that are vulnerable to food insecurity during the lean and post-weld period, a situation exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis. The households will be accompanied in gradually improving their livelihoods over the longer term.
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-In Senegal, over €3.26 million of the budget programme supporting migration management, return and reintegration and the contribution of the diaspora, are being reoriented to support Senegalese efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The reorientation will, for example, assist 15,000 migrants and their families, considered as particularly vulnerable during this crisis, to manage daily challenges and cover basic needs such as food provision. It will also support coronavirus awareness-raising activities and help around 80 micro, small and medium sized enterprises to adapt their business model to cope with the crisis.
Background
The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa was established in 2015 to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management. EU institutions, EU Member States and other donors have so far allocated resources amounting to €5 billion to the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
With the adoption of these new projects and top-ups, the Emergency Trust Fund now funds 230 programmes with a total of €4.58 billion already assigned. The funding is divided between three regions as follows: Sahel/Lake Chad, €2.08 billion (105 programmes); Horn of Africa, €1.69 billion (90 programmes); North of Africa, €807 million (31 programmes).
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