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PRESS RELEASE
Red Cross Red Crescent and African Development Bank enter pan-African partnership on food security and disaster risk reduction
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The MoU paves the way for increased collaboration between the two organizations. It specifically outlines several areas of potential collaboration, including climate change, health care, food security, disaster risk reduction, youth development, and water and sanitation.
The African Development Bank has confirmed its commitment to engaging with IFRC through a donation of US $1 million, to assist the Comoros Red Crescent Society in its response to flash flooding in 2012.
The two organizations will identify and agree upon joint projects and activities to help local communities prepare for and respond to the consequences of climate change, as well as build their resilience for long-term social and economic development. The partnership will explore new avenues of growth, with the end result being better services for those most in need.
“With drought currently affecting parts of southern Africa, and with many people in the Sahel region coping with flooding, it is imperative that we form strategic partnerships with local actors to help address recurring challenges,” said Bekele Geleta, IFRC Secretary General.
Referring to the successful outcomes of the recent African Development Fund (ADF) negotiations in Paris, African Development Bank Group President Donald Kaberuka highlighted the Bank’s commitment to fragile states. In this regards, he stressed the need for greater urgency in “our collective efforts” to address food insecurity and flooding that affects millions of people across the continent. “We are happy to team up with the IFRC to address these issues for sustainable development in Africa,” he said.
The overarching objective of the African Development Bank Group is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its 54 regional member countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction. The Bank Group achieves this by mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in RMCs, and providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts.
The Red Cross Red Crescent is active in all 54 countries of Africa, and with its vast network of an estimated 1.6 million volunteers across the continent, 57 per cent of whom are youth, the movement has unprecedented access to the smallest of communities.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 mil¬lion people each year through its 187 member National Societies. Together, the IFRC acts before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. It does so with impartiality as to nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class and political opinions. For more information, please visit http://www.ifrc.org. You can also connect with IFRC on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
About the African Development Bank Group
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution and the first multilateral development finance institution in Africa. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 29 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 53 regional member states.
For more information: http://www.afdb.org
For more information:
In Addis Ababa:
Katherine Mueller, communications manager, IFRC Africa
Mobile: +251 930 03 3413 – email : katherine.mueller@ifrc.org
In Tunis:
Aristide Ahouassou, communications officer, African Development Bank
Mobile: +216 28 67 19 58 – email : a.ahouassou@afdb.org
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