On Monday, September 3, Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that AFD would have an additional €1 billion to allocate in the form of grants starting in 2019. He indicated that part of this envelope would be dedicated to issues related to gender, health, and education. This significant announcement should be reflected in the 2019 budget. Equipop and its partners will be following this closely in the coming weeks.
At the end of November 2017, in his speech in Ouagadougou, President Emmanuel Macron emphasized education and "freedom of choice" for young girls as essential factors for development. These priorities were subsequently endorsed in the CICID conclusions in February 2018, which placed gender, education, and health at the heart of French development aid policy. However, further details were awaited on the financial resources allocated to these sectors and on the budgetary trajectory until 2022. On Monday, September 3, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian cited several figures.
Echoing the speech given by the President of the Republic at the conference of ambassadors the previous week, the Minister announced that France would "considerably increase the proportion of [its] commitment in the form of grants relative to loans." According to the Minister, this amounts to "nothing less than a fourfold increase compared to the amount granted in 2018, which was €300 million, and we are increasing this amount by €1 billion.". Rebalancing aid in favor of grants has been a demand of NGOs for years. Indeed, loans, which represent the majority of AFD commitments, are not suited to social issues such as health or education. The Minister specified that these grants would target 19 priority countries, particularly the Sahel region.
According to the Minister, half of this budget, i.e. €500 million, will be devoted to the five priorities of French aid, including gender equality, health, and education. Equipop will remain particularly attentive to ensuring that this stated ambition is effectively included in the next finance bill, and will highlight the issue to parliamentarians during the fall.
A few months ago, our association presented the government with concrete courses of action for the Sahel, which propose leveraging sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), an area that is now at the forefront of French aid priorities. We are counting on the budget increases mentioned above to ensure that France contributes to their implementation.
To view the Minister's speech at the AFD, click here.
Photo: © Alain Goulard / AFD
