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Three conferences on the prospects for Africa's economy?

With an uncertain economic climate, will African economies maintain the strong performances they have seen over the past decade? The development of agriculture and an agro-industry can help them to achieve this, provided a solution is found to the issue of land tenure.

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Conferences: Africa's economy

"10-year milestone..."

AFD’s Brussels office opened in May 2002 and has allowed closer relations to be established between AFD, the European Union and the different European partners with regard to the development of Southern countries. Jean-Marc Bellot, its Director, tells us about the prospects for this partnership.

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AFD and the European Union

"No agricultural development without agricultural credit, because farmers are the first investors"

With a new food crises looming in the Sahel, Jean-Luc François, Head of AFD’s Agriculture, Rural Development and Biodiversity Division, tells us about the challenges, the actions and the tools against hunger and food insecurity.
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Invest in Agriculture

Aid evaluation in a tight spot

An ever-increasing demand for aid effectiveness evaluations, increasingly complex methods, declining budgets… Following the major conference organized by AFD and the European Development Network (EUDN), Laurent Fontaine, Head of Evaluation at AFD, tells us about the pressures faced by evaluators.

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Aid Evaluation

Water: why and how AFD is taking action

This special report aims to help you learn more about the areas and tools of AFD’s activity in the water, sanitation, agricultural water and sustainable water management sectors. Videos, graphics and interviews…

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6th World Water Forum

Has the Arab Spring
changed things?

What was said during the seminar organized by AFD and the Political Societies Analysis Fund on 1 February? The aim was to compare researchers’ views with those of actors of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania. Video interviews and images of the meeting.

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Arab Springs

Sustainable management in Congo Basin forests

AFD has decided to help Congo Basin forest countries move towards a more sustainable management of their forests. This ground-breaking support to Congo Basin States and forestry companies may be complex, but it offers win-win solutions. Learn more in this special report.

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Forests Management

Water: why and how AFD is taking action

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6th World Water Forum

Water: why and how AFD is taking action

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6th World Water Forum

Financing Africa's Cities

For Thierry Paulais, an AFD researcher, the conditions are right for better city development. This is essential to enhance economic effectiveness and improve living conditions for city dwellers. However, he says that this will only come about if there is a change of scale and if we rely on African-led financing.

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Africa's Cities

"Les mentalités doivent changer"

Dans le débat sur les liens entre démographie et développement, J.P. Guengant, chercheur et auteur de Comment bénéficier du dividende démographique ?, répond à nos questions. Selon lui, l'explosion démographique que connaît l'Afrique, et inédite, pourrait grêver lourdement ses perspectives de développement.

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Explosion démographique

"China is a real high-speed laboratory in the fight against climate change"

In China, AFD gives priority to innovative projects that we will be able to reproduce in other countries, particularly in Africa. An interview with Sandrine Boucher, Director of AFD’s Beijing agency.

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China: Objective Climate

Designing cities in Latin America

Aerial tramway in Medellin, Bus Rapid Transit system in Curitiba... The continent is at the cutting edge of innovation in urban mobility. Two AFD experts explain how the Latin American approach has revolutionized the way urban mobility is designed and how AFD is supporting this revolution.

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Voir le diaporama et lire l'interview

Designing cities

“The abolition of hunger is not utopian.”

Ismail Serageldin, Professor at the Collège de France, and Dov Zerah are marking the G20 Agriculture meeting by launching an appeal to abolish world hunger “now”. At the same time, two AFD experts have been reviewing AFD’s action for food security.

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securité alimentaire

World hunger

Reconciling development and environmental protection

How does AFD work to protect the environment? How does it manage the impacts the projects it finances have on the environment? Anticipating the conference “Reconciling poverty eradication and quality of the environment”, Tiphaine Leménager, an AFD expert, answers our questions. Watch the video interview (in French)

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Development and environment

Development and environment

NGOs, a core partnership for French aid

In 2010, over sixty NGO projects were cofinanced by AFD. Catherine Bonnaud, Head of Partnerships with NGOs, answers our questions and makes a review of AFD’s NGO activity.

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Partnership with NGOs

New focus on health

“For every dollar spent on family planning, four dollars are saved in the water, sanitation, education and health sectors…”.

Two AFD experts explain why health is an essential lever for development.

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www.afd.fr/jahia/Jahia/op/edit/home/projets_afd/sante-health?cache=bypass&actuCtnId=56399

Health & AFD

Haiti: "The projects are taking shape. They require all our energy"

Since the earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010, AFD has pledged more than €100M for the reconstruction of the country, while pursuing projects that are already active. Priority has been given to rebuilding the Haitian State and to education, health and agriculture.
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2 years on from the earthquake

AFD

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a financial institution and the main implementing agency for France’s official development assistance to developing countries and overseas territories. It finances projects, programs and studies through grants, loans, guarantee funds and debt reduction-development contracts and provides capacity development support to its partners in developing countries.

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News

International seminar on carbon credits and sustainable bamboo management in Asia

14/05/2012

The conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 26 April followed on from a first meeting held in Yunnan Province, China, in May 2011. The experts and operators who attended were able to share their experiences and discuss best practices and plantation techniques ...
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Conference cycle on perspectives for Africa’s economy

13/05/2012

As part of the “Ideas for Development” conference cycle, the AFD is organising three events on perspectives for Africa’s economy: "Macro-economic perspectives for Africa: sustaining growth in a more uncertain global environment", on ...
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Conference on Islamic microfinance in Jeddah, co-organized with Islamic Development Bank, on 30 April and 1 June

11/05/2012

AFD and the Islamic Development Bank have co-organized an international conference on Islamic microfinance in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with CGAP (microfinance network led by the World Bank). This conference gathered major players in Islamic microfinance ...
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Burundi: grant to support tea industry development

10/05/2012

Burundi tea is the second-largest cash crop after coffee and 80% of it comes from village plantations. It is harvested throughout the year and thus provides some 60,000 households with a stable and regular source of income. A €1.2m grant agreement ...
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3 questions to Andris Piebalgs - European aid: a shared and evolving responsibility

26/04/2012

Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development, gives us in this interview his vision of the European aid.
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Jean-François Bayart pays tribute to the anthropologist Eric de Rosny, winner of AFD’s literary prize in 1992

25/04/2012

The great anthropologist on Africa, Eric de Rosny, passed away on 2 March 2012. AFD, which drew a great deal from his research, has asked one of his friends and disciples, Jean-François Bayart, for his testimony.
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Development in motion

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Publications News

Access to Electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Feedback and Innovative Approaches

14/05/2012

Anjali Shanker (IED), with contributions from Patrick Clément (Axenne), Daniel Tapin and Martin Buchsenschutz (Nodalis Conseil). Contact: Valérie Reboud, Technical and Operational Department, Environment and Equipment Division. This study has ...
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Publication of study “Reducing the Cost of Migrant Remittances and Optimizing their Impact on Development”

03/05/2012

This study was led by a team of experts, under the supervision of Savings without Borders, in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, as well as in the Comoros. It proposes practical solutions to reduce the costs of migrant remittances and increase their impact ...
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La diversification des exportations en zone franc : degré, sophistication et dynamique

24/04/2012

Document in French Un certain nombre de travaux récents ont conclu que la diversification des exportations était liée de façon similaire au revenu par habitant : cette première s’accroît à mesure que ce dernier augmente, au moins jusqu’à ...
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La crise de 2009 en Guadeloupe : le rôle des statistiques dans le dialogue social

29/03/2012

The social movement that occured in Guadeloupe in 2009, led by Liyannaj Kont’ Pwofitasyon (LKP), led to a 44-day long strike. The main claim was an increase of the purchasing power. LKP's demands aimed at a decrease of the prices, ...
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