The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group on June 24, 2015 approved a loan of US $50 million to finance the Lusaka Sanitation Program targeted at Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. The Executive Directors, in approving the loan, expressed their satisfaction with the innovative approach in addressing the challenges of sanitation particularly among the poor in informal settlements. They urged the African Development Bank’s Water and Sanitation Department to capture the lessons and share them with other regional member countries.

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has approved on June 9 a USD 1 million grant to launch the first phase of a Green Mini-Grids (GMG) Market Development Program (MDP) which will be implemented by the SE4ALL Africa Hub in coordination with SE4ALL’s Clean Energy Mini-Grid High Impact Opportunity stakeholder group. The program aims to remove or reduce market barriers at regional scale and strengthen the ecosystem for the emergence of a thriving GMG sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Construction of South Sudan Customs Service headquarters in Juba is underway. Funded by the African Development Bank, the activity is part of support provided through the Public Finance Management and Aid Coordination Project (PFAID).

Le 15 juin 2015 à Lomé, la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) et le Gouvernement du Togo ont signé un accord de don du Fonds d’assistance au secteur privé africain (FAPA), d’un montant de 817 146 dollars EU (488,6 millions de francs CFA), au titre d’appui à la reconstruction des marchés et aux commerçants de Kara et Lomé.

Strengthened environmental and social impact assessments can improve access to health and improve gender equality

As African countries undertake significant infrastructure development to transform their economies, it is critical that they take into account the impact of these capital projects on the health of workers and nearby communities, and on women and girls in particular, to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth.