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Impacts

Improving Access to Water and Sanitation for millions in Ethiopia

Ethiopia
World Toilet Day on November 19 highlights the dangers of lacking sanitary facilities, and the search for sustainable solutions. With an estimated 419 million people practising "open defecation" worldwide, the need for access to clean, safe toilets for all is more urgent than ever. Which is why AFD is funding a number of initiatives, including two flagship projects in Ethiopia. One will provide 2.6 million people with improved, gender-sensitive sanitation facilities and the second will improve access to water for 1 million people in 45 towns.
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On the Ground

Bangladesh: Sorting the Sanitation Situation to Protect the Ecosystem

Chattogram Bangladesh
On the southeast coast of Bangladesh, Chattogram is one of the world’s oldest ports with a natural harbour. But the bustling port city struggles to deal with sewage management, which is taking its toll on the environment. Ahead of World Water Day, we take a look at the increasingly ambitious measures being taken to rehabilitate the sanitation system in Bangladesh, with AFD support.
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On the Ground

Confronting Gender-based Violence in Rwanda and Reigniting hope for the Future

Rwanda
More than a third of young women have been victims of some form of violence. How can we prevent violence based on gender, age, and disability and help survivors to rebuild their lives? In Rwanda, the Reka project works to provide better-coordinated care, and uses the arts and sports in its support for the project participants.
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Interview

The Question of our Era: What to do about Climate Migration

Tag
Un passeport et deux mains
International organizations are struggling to agree on how to deal with the massive population displacements linked to climate change and environmental crises. In a recently published book on African Economies in 2024 demographer Serge Rabier devotes a chapter to how this problem affects Africa in particular.
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Key Figure

Closing the $2.5 trillion Climate Gap in Africa

Namibie prairie champ climat biodiversité
The sheer scale of financing needed to cope with climate change is coming to light, and in Africa, it is an eye-watering $2.5 trillion. To help countries put in motion climate strategies, development banks are working to narrow the massive gap, as highlighted in the fifth edition of “African Economies”, a report on the continent’s economic prospects in 2024, recently published in collaboration with AFD.
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Impacts

Solid Partnerships for Making Buildings Sustainable

Kere
Buildings, both in their construction and day-to-day maintenance, require enormous amounts of energy. How to make them more sustainable? This was the objective of the Buildings and Climate Global Forum, held in Paris earlier this month. AFD is supporting this movement through nearly 50 projects around the world as part of the Program for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB).
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On the Ground

Passing Traditional Knowledge from Mother to Child, to Protect the Environment

De la mère à la terre
Traditional knowledge passed on from mother to daughter can help future generations tackle the consequences of global warming, but such knowledge is in danger of being lost. On International Women's Day, we look at the project “De la Mère à la Terre” (from Mother to Earth), which highlights the work these women are doing to protect the environment, and the obstacles in their way.
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Promoting Benin’s Heritage & Tourism: the Biggest Cultural Project Ever Financed by AFD

Alain Godonou Bénin musée culture patrimoine portrait
Changing Lives, Part 2
Who are the men and women who carry out the projects supported by AFD Group and promote sustainable development? We’ve been finding out, in a new series we’re calling “Changing Lives”. In this week’s installment, we meet Alain Godonou, who as head of Benin's Museums Programs, oversees cultural projects across the country.
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Impacts

The Commons: Unleashing its Potential Across Africa

Assemblée Bénin
“The Commons” are shared resources managed independently by a community. To what extent do they contribute to objectives of general interest? How can public bodies safeguard these resources? The co-authors of the book “The Commons: Drivers of Change and Opportunities for Africa”, along with researchers, political scientists and field operators, discussed these questions earlier this month.
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Report

Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Opportunity?

Robots & Generative AI by Masadepan
With an estimated four billion people voting in elections in more than 60 countries this year, observers fear the increasing use of artificial intelligence will pose problems for the political process, from “deepfake” videos to mass disinformation campaigns. At an AFD-hosted conference last month, AI experts discussed the risks posed to human rights, possible solutions, and the work that remains to be done.
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Decoding

African Economies 2024: Light at the end of the Tunnel?

Floods in Mozambique
Over the past year, economic growth across the African continent remained higher than global growth rates, but it was slower than in 2022. What explains the slowdown of some, and the advance of others? And what improvements can be made for the year ahead? We speak to AFD’s expert in African economies to find out.
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Through the lens

Rebuilding Lives after the Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: One Year On

séisme Turquie
In February 2023, earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people. They were among the most devastating earthquakes to have struck the region in almost a century, turning cities and towns into rubble and displacing close to 2 million people. We examine the swift action of AFD Group and its partners to help rebuild, and the results, one year on.
On the Ground

Soccer: A Playmaker in Africa's Development

football Burundi play international AFD sport ballon
A new collection of wide-ranging analyses of Africa’s economies and social issues is out now. In the 2024 edition of L’Économie Africaine (“African Economies”), one chapter is even devoted to soccer, whose economic and social impact extends beyond the field, to affect everything from health and education to social cohesion.
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Impacts

"Atlas" of Latin America and the Caribbean: 17 Sustainable Development Initiatives

Costa Rica
Latin America is considered a champion of sustainable development, with pioneering initiatives that have been replicated not only across the region, but around the world. Some of the most innovative projects are highlighted in the “Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean”, the result of a collaboration between AFD and Sciences Po University in Paris. The impact of the Atlas has been so vast as to span all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
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Impacts

Pakistan: Harnessing Hydropower to make Energy Sustainable

Mangla Hydroelectric Dam
Faced with growing demand for energy and a reliance on imported fossil fuels, Pakistan is beginning to tap its immense hydropower potential. In the approach to the International Day of Renewable Energy, we examine a number of projects backed by AFD and its partners that are boosting Pakistan’s hydroelectric power production and making the country’s energy supply cleaner and more sustainable.
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Interview

Fighting for Female Farmers in West Africa

Marie-Paule Okri with farmers she supports © Ivorian League for Women’s Rights
In Côte d’Ivoire, two-thirds of rural women work in agriculture, but as many as 75% of them live below the poverty line. They also face physical and other forms of violence. For the past three years, the Ivorian League for Women’s Rights has been tackling these problems, and providing support for women, particularly in rural areas. For her work, co-founder Marie-Paule Okri has just received the Simone de Beauvoir Award for Women’s Freedom 2024 in Paris.
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