Like several international financial institutions, the World Bank is pledging $5 billion for the implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative launched in 2007 by the African Union.
The pledges go on and on for the effective implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative. After the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Development Agency (AFD), it is now the turn of the World Bank to finally take an interest in this initiative launched since 2007 by the African Union. The financial institution based in Washington (United States) will mobilize 5 billion dollars over 5 years to restore degraded landscapes, improve agricultural productivity and strengthen the livelihoods of populations in the mega-project area.
The Great Green Wall initiative will create a 15 km wide green corridor across the African continent, crossing 7,800 km of the continent through 11 countries (Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti). The World Bank funding, “which comes at a crucial time, will help improve livelihoods in countries recovering from Covid-19 while facing the consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change on their people and economies,” says David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group.
The contribution of the Progreen Facility
Like other leaders of major development banks, David Malpass participated in the One Planet Summit, which gave a new lease of life to the Great Green Wall initiative. According to the World Bank, under this initiative, the $5 billion it will deploy over 5 years will enable community development, food security, landscape restoration, job creation, construction of climate-resilient infrastructure, rural mobility and access to renewable energy in 11 countries in the Sahel, Lake Chad and the Horn of Africa.
In addition to this funding, its Progreen facility will invest USD 14.5 million to combat land degradation in five Sahel countries: Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania. This World Bank trust fund will thus support the objectives of the Great Green Wall initiative.
Jean Marie Takouleu
