The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Malagasy government co-organized from 18 to 20 November 2020 a virtual training workshop on environmental and social safeguards in the implementation of projects financed by the AfDB in Madagascar. The 80 participants and experts from the sector ministries were built on aspects such as: appropriation of roles and responsibilities in the implementation and monitoring of environmental and social measures of projects; good understanding of the mechanism for managing complaints relating to projects; improving the environmental and social performance of the portfolio of projects financed by the Bank in Madagascar.
AfDB has already invested more than 2 billion dollars in Madagascar
AfDB has been providing financial support to Madagascar since 1976. Today, its portfolio in this East African country amounts to more than USD 2 billion. In 2019, the Bank has approved a US$192.36 million package to support government projects in the areas of agriculture, improving economic competitiveness, power generation and natural disaster risk.
The organization of this virtual workshop is in response to the AfDB’s findings. Ongoing projects financed by the AfDB in Madagascar need improvements in the monitoring of environmental and social measures. “The implementation of projects can sometimes have serious environmental and social impacts and risks. A good assessment of these aspects helps to ensure the environmental and social sustainability of projects, which is important for economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa,” says Mohamed Cherif, AfDB Country Officer in Madagascar.
The social and environmental sustainability of projects financed by the AfDB is also a major principle of the bank’s ten-year strategy (SD), defined for the period 2013-2023. Entitled “At the Heart of Africa’s Transformation”, the SD focuses on two main objectives: inclusive growth and the transition to green growth.
Boris Ngounou