BRUSSELS, 23 February 2018 – During the International High-Level Conference on the Sahel, the founding members of the Sahel Alliance – France, Germany, the EU, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and UNDP –, joined by Italy, Spain and the UK, officially launched the Sahel Alliance, by announcing the implementation of over 500 projects between 2018 and 2022.
EUR 6bn of investments for the Sahel region: this is the total amount disbursed by the members of the Sahel Alliance and being made available to member countries of the G5 Sahel (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger) for the implementation of over 500 projects with a capacity to transform the region by 2022.
All these projects, 12 of which were highlighted to illustrate the principles of the Alliance, were presented to Sahelian Heads of State during the G5 Sahel Summit in Niamey on 6 February 2018. They will be implemented rapidly, particularly in the most vulnerable areas, as the objective of the Sahel Alliance is to have an immediate impact on populations, in line with the priorities established by the G5 Sahel countries. To achieve this, the Sahel Alliance will take action in six priority sectors: youth employment, rural development and food security, energy and climate, governance, decentralization and access to basic services, and security.
The membership of three new countries – Italy, Spain and the UK – in this unique initiative is a sign that development actors are mobilizing for the Sahel region.
The members of the Sahel Alliance and the Sahelian Heads of State have called on the international community to take urgent and coordinated action in the Sahel, a region threatened by insecurity and where there is a particularly high rate of poverty. An event dedicated to the Sahel Alliance will be held in Africa before the summer.
“The Sahel Alliance aims to pool and coordinate the commitment of its partners in 6 priority fields of action. To date, the projects concerned – the performance of which will be duly evaluated – amount to EUR 6bn of financial resources spread out over the next 5 years. Their sole objective is to speed up achievements in the field for the benefit of Sahelian populations, particularly in the most vulnerable areas. The Sahel Alliance Coordination Unit is available to its members to help achieve these objectives”, said Jean-Marc Gravellini, Head of the Sahel Alliance Coordination Unit.
“In the Sahel, peace and development go hand in hand. The Sahel Alliance demonstrates the willingness of development partners to combine their efforts and better coordinate their actions to create the conditions for sustainable growth and lasting peace. Over the next five years, the Alliance and the Sahel countries have an ambitious goal to double access to renewable energy. By promoting universal access to reliable, affordable, and renewable energy, we are fostering growth and improving the living conditions of the Sahel people. Electricity is life…”, Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region
About the Sahel Alliance
On 13 July 2017, during the Franco-German Council of Ministers, France, Germany and the European Union, along with the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), proposed an international cooperation platform for the Sahel region with the aim of taking more and better action there. The Sahel Alliance aims to achieve more effective aid coordination and enhance the support from development partners to the region, in order to more generally contribute to stabilizing the security situation and eradicating poverty, by developing solutions for rural areas, creating employment for young people, improving energy infrastructure and the fight against climate change, and strengthening governance.
