Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2015

2015 was again marked by multiple crises, conflicts, natural disasters and the Ebola epidemic. No single country can tackle these kinds of challenges, which is why Luxembourg’s development cooperation complements its activity with a regional approach which aims to respond to joint problems faced by several neighbouring countries, in particular by focusing on synergies and sharing lessons learned and best practice.

In West Africa, Luxembourg’s development cooperation contributed to the United Nations trust fund to fight the Ebola epidemic. In order to strengthen in a lasting fashion the strategies and national health plans in the entire sub-region, Luxembourg continued to support the WHO regional response to Ebola – a large-scale project also supported by the European Commission. Capacity-building of responses to natural disasters was supported in three countries in the sub-region through a UNDP programme complemented by funding for the UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.

In response to the migration crisis, the largest regional contribution in 2015 was allocated to the European Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. It is interesting to note that the Luxemburgish agency LuxDev managed to win several tenders launched in this context by the European Commission in our partner countries.

Other support went directly to civil society at the regional level, especially under the partnership with ENDA Tiers Monde in the field of good governance and the partnership with ENDA Santé combating HIV/AIDS. External evaluations were carried out on both organisations and some strategic recommendations were generated to optimise their high-quality work.

In Central America, Luxembourg’s development cooperation continued to be active in the field of corporate social responsibility via the regional umbrella organisation INTEGRARSE and in the strengthening of financial systems through a programme to build the FMI’s capacities (CAPTAC-DR).

Alongside the action plan for the effectiveness of Luxembourg’s development cooperation and the policy of concentration of assistance, cooperation with other countries focuses on a very small number of countries. In the Balkans, Luxembourg’s development cooperation will henceforth focus on Kosovo, involving LuxDev, the NGO Caritas (under a mandate) and the Financial Technology Transfer Agency (ATTF). 

The Occupied Palestinian Territories continue to enjoy a special status of quasi-partner country and Luxembourg is continuing its support to local NGOs there and to UNRWA. In Afghanistan, the successful cooperation on the border with Tajikistan with the Patrip Foundation is also continuing via the NGO Mission East. 

In Asia, the focus on the least developed countries is being put into effect through the exit strategy for Vietnam and the start of our first project in Myanmar, in the field of strengthening human resources in the tourism sector. The formulation of a second project in the rural development sector also started in 2015.

In Mongolia, Luxembourg is involved in consolidating the development cooperation projects in the fields of telemedicine and financial regulation.