Senegal

Following the news of the death of his Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean, Minister Paulette Lenert had to postpone her participation in an official working visit to Senegal in April 2019. Nevertheless, the technical aspects of the visit took place, enabling the foundation stone to be laid in the treatment centre for victims of sexual violence in Ziguinchor in partnership with the Luxembourgish NGO SAN ACCESS and the regional NGO ENDA Santé. The centre aims to promote a favourable environment for the improvement of the health and well-being of young victims of violence, and in particular sexual violence, in Casamance (Senegal) and neighbouring countries (Gambia, Guinea-Bissau).

The year 2019 also saw the start of activities by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) designed to improve access by the most vulnerable groups to basic health services, with a special emphasis on promoting access for young people, particularly young girls. Thanks to financing from Luxembourg, the UNFPA has been able to scale up the initiative of the young female leaders club for girls, with more than 480 young girls and adolescents enrolled to date in the project’s focus area. In the regions where nearly 30% of girls under 19 are already mothers, the young leaders club aims to strengthen the leadership of adolescents and girls in combating young pregnancies and child marriage, promoting gender aspects, school enrolment for young girls and their employability.

Luxembourg has also continued its long-standing commitment to the World Food Programme (WFP) and its flagship ‘school feeding’ initiative in Senegal and in the sub-region. In Senegal, the WFP provides healthy and nutritional meals daily to 106,000 school-children in 516 primary schools in the six regions with the highest levels of food and nutritional insecurity, promoting, in particular, school attendance by young girls, and good nutritional practices. Produced locally, the school meals stimulate agricultural production and the local economy.

In the areas of health and food, once more, Luxembourg has continued its support to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the improvement of monitoring and response capacities in food safety emergency situations in Senegal. Some initial, encouraging results are now available, including Senegal’s adoption of its national food safety emergency response plan. In line with Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation’s wish to support South-South cooperation, Senegal, with a wealth of experience, is now in a position to support Burkina Faso, in turn, to produce and operationalise its national food safety emergency response plan.

Finally, eight Luxembourgish NGOs (Stop Aids Now/ACCESS, Luxembourg Red Cross, Guiden & Scouten, Frères des Hommes, PADEM, ECPAT, Pharmaciens sans frontières, SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde) have run projects in 2019 in Senegal in the sectors of health, nutrition and basic social services, education and vocational training, rural and agricultural development, emergency aid and the elimination of violence against women.