Regional Stabilization and Development Fund in fragile regions within ECOWAS member states (VP)

active

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed to set up a Regional Stabilization and Development Fund in fragile regions within the ECOWAS member states. In the medium to long term, the ECOWAS Stabilization Fund should also be open to other interested international development partners. A pilot project has been implemented in Gambia since 2019. The aim of the project is to contribute to the stability and sustainable development of selected ECOWAS member states by improving living conditions, strengthening social cohesion and promoting good governance. Two intervention contexts are distinguished - early response/prevention and stabilization, recovery and reconstruction. The Stabilization Fund will therefore operate both preventively and reactively, with all interventions being development-oriented. The project is designed as an open program, i.e. intervention countries and individual measures are only selected during implementation. In order to achieve long-term stabilization effects before or after new crises or positive changes (e.g. democratic transition), four program components are planned. The first component provides for the promotion of the private sector and the creation of jobs, especially for young people. Possible activities include achieving short-term employment effects through labor-intensive construction projects as well as medium and long-term employment through investments along selected value chains (especially in the agricultural sector), training or improving market access. The second component aims to improve access to basic services and increase resilience. The construction or rehabilitation of basic economic and social infrastructure as well as natural disaster-resilient infrastructure (climate-adapted buildings, dams, sewage systems, etc.) can be financed. In addition to the first two components, the third component aims to promote good governance and social cohesion. Activities can include, for example, strengthening local governance through participatory community planning or strengthening social cohesion through local conflict resolution mechanisms or social dialogue. The fourth component provides for a flanking strengthening of regional, national and local implementation capacities, which will be implemented analogously to the third component as investment-accompanying measures for the first two components.