Partnership: Maïmouna Obot (storychangers eV) in conversation with Udeme
The state will award around 1,8 million in funding through the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) in 2020 for development policy projects
(Stuttgart/SEZ, December 23.12.2020, 1,8): The state of Baden-Württemberg is supporting development projects from civil society with around 300.000 million euros in the current year through the funding program beffekt! the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) and two special programs. This year, emergency aid was created for state partnerships in need and special funds amounting to XNUMX euros were created under the title works!Corona approved as emergency aid for measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in countries in the Global South.
Emergency aid for partnerships to combat the corona pandemic
Through the specially set up funding line works!Corona projects to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are supported by 33 organizations in Baden-Württemberg and their partner organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The aim of the special funding was to combat the corona pandemic within the framework of existing partnerships: for example with prevention measures, the creation of educational material for the medical sector or awareness-raising measures to protect against infection. In addition, promotes works!Corona includes the distribution of basic medications, the production and distribution of everyday masks and the establishment of handwashing stations.
“We are experiencing that the corona pandemic has extremely exacerbated the existing imbalance between rich and poor – locally and globally. There is a risk that the development successes achieved in Africa, Asia and Latin America will be wiped out. A massive poverty and hunger crisis is looming; the long-term socio-economic consequences cannot yet be estimated. We must not leave the people in the Global South alone with this. With the special funding works!Corona wants the country to support civil society partnership initiatives in these difficult times and to provide targeted and unbureaucratic help,” explained Theresa Schopper, State Minister responsible for development policy.
The approval of the funds was preceded by a tender for funding. “The demand for funding for emergency relief measures was high. The feedback on the funding line works!Corona were very positive,” says Laurids Novak, head of project funding at the SEZ. “We received around 100 applications for funding, which were assessed by an independent committee. This also made the decision about which projects would be funded.”
Immediate aid for Baden-Württemberg partner countries in need
At the same time, the state set up an immediate aid program for Baden-Württemberg partner countries in need. A total of around 500.000 euros will be used for relief measures, particularly in Burundi and the province of Dohuk in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan-Iraq. Among other things, protective equipment for health wards in the refugee camps and hygiene measures in a children's center in Dohuk are being financed. In Burundi, which is also struggling with the consequences of a severe flood disaster, emergency aid measures for food supplies, health care and the provision of tent accommodation were financed. As part of the state partnership with the state of Maharashtra in India, educational measures are supported for disadvantaged girls from slums and rural areas.
Promotion of the development policy basis guaranteed despite the pandemic
Continuity and reliability were also possible under Corona conditions works! - SEZ funding lines are maintained. The ultimate goal: the experienced and efficient work of the over 1.500 development organizations in the country must be able to continue despite the pandemic. Below the line works!17 development policy education measures were approved domestically, including a traveling exhibition on sustainability goals for companies and a digital German-Ghanaian youth theater festival.
The electrification of an indigenous village with solar systems in Costa Rica or the expansion and equipping of a medical outpatient clinic with a pharmacy in Bangladesh are two of a total of 26 partnership projects in the line works!abroad were approved. A total of eleven measures of partnership cooperation in Burundi were in the line works!Burundi approved. The funding can be used to set up a small loan program for widows and divorcees or to implement environmental protection measures and training measures on modern methods in mushroom cultivation to improve income in agriculture. All projects contribute to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals). “We are very pleased that the state is showing reliability towards the work of the partnership associations in Baden-Württemberg. “Especially in times of crisis, our industry’s educational work is more important than ever,” says Philipp Keil, Managing Director of the SEZ.
About the funding line works! Since 2018, the country has been supporting development projects from civil society with one million euros in funding every year. The Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) is responsible for implementing the funding line.
Background to the SEZ
The Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ) wants to sensitize the population of Baden-Württemberg for globally responsible action and show how everyone can do something for a fairer world. The main topics are fair trade, partnerships between people in Baden-Württemberg and people in the countries of the Global South, global learning and responsible corporate management (CSR).
Press contact:
Nina Oerter
Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ)
Werastrasse 24
70182 Stuttgart
Phone: 0711/210 29-80
oerter@sez.de
