Introduction
Development cooperation relations between Burkina Faso and the Grand Duchy date back to 1996. In order to reinforce these links, on 27 October 1999 the two countries signed an initial framework cooperation agreement, which has been succeeded by the signing of three Indicative Cooperation Programmes (ICPs). Currently, development cooperation relations are governed by the ICP III (2017-2021), signed on 21 November 2016 by both governments.
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The ICP III has an indicative funding envelope of EUR 95.5 million and focuses on the sectors of (i)
sustainable management of natural resources, (ii) education, teaching and technical and vocational training, and (iii) information and communication technologies (ICT). The bilateral interventions in these fields are implemented by LuxDev, Luxembourg’s development cooperation agency. In addition, for the 2016-2022 period the NGO SOS FaimLuxembourg has been given a remit to act in the area of rural microfinance.
The ICP III makes provision for partnership committees to be held annually. These are forums dedicated to dialogue between the two countries, which also facilitate the examination of the state of play in development cooperation interventions. In view of the health crisis, the 12th partnership committee was held on 20 July 2020 by video-conference, co-chaired by Minister Fayot and his counterpart in Burkina Faso, Minister Kaboré. Despite the adverse impacts of the health and security crisis, as a whole the implementation of the ICP III programmes was judged to be satisfactory.
As the partnership committee was taking place, Minister Fayot also announced a budget increase of EUR 5.5 million for the support programme for implementation of the Sectoral Plan for Education and Training. This additional support echoes the role of lead technical and financial partner in the education sector that Luxembourg will take on in 2021 and will hold until 2022.
Also, following the feasibility study carried out in 2019 with a view to possible support for Burkina Faso’s tax register, Minister Fayot confirmed that this support would amount to EUR 1.5 million, which opens up a new area of intervention by Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation in Burkina Faso.
Finally, the partnership committee discussed the launch of the mid-term review of the ICP III (2017-2021), which started at the end of 2020.
Multilaterally, in 2020 Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation continued its support in the areas of local governance and youth entrepreneurship through a project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Two other multilateral stakeholders also continued to benefit from Luxembourg’s financial support in 2020. These were the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through a project to increase the independence and reproductive health of women and vulnerable young people and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) which has delivered support for innovation in the area of inclusive digital finance in order to support the economic and climate resilience of populations. This latter element is receiving financial assistance of EUR 3.2 million from the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development (MECSD) for the 2019-2022 period.
Finally, in 2020, 14 Luxembourgish NGOs were active in Burkina Faso, and continued to implement their projects despite the health crisis.
Priority areas of intervention
- Sustainable management of natural resources
- Quality education
- Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
Development of PDA
As part of support for combating COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation helped to improve the quality of healthcare in health facilities through a contribution of EUR 500,000. This support was implemented together with the Belgian development agency Enabel within the Team Europe approach.
A second contribution of EUR 1,365,000 was made through a project implemented by UNICEF with the aim of providing assistance to displaced populations by improving their access to water and sanitation as well as hygiene measures to restrict the spread of the virus.
Finally, Luxembourg also increased its support to the ICRC and the Luxembourg Red Cross as part of efforts to combat the pandemic. Thus, a budget increase of EUR 1.25 million was granted to the ICRC, while the Luxembourg Red Cross received extra support of EUR 250,000 to support its efforts in combating the spread of the pandemic in Burkina Faso.
Reference data
- Population (MIO): 20.9
- GNI (per resident): USD 2180
- Human Development Index (HDI): 182/189
- Life expectancy: 61.6
- Indicative Cooperation Programme: 2017-2021
Key achievements 2020
- Holding of the 12th partnership committee meeting by video-conference, 20 July 2020
- Budget increase of EUR 5.5 million in the education sector
- Launch of a project to support Burkina Faso’s tax register, with a budget of EUR 1.5 million
- Support of EUR 3.2 million for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
Sector breakdown
2020
