EU confirms its support for development of Central Africa

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, January 21, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs is going to announce close to €3 billion in grants for countries and organisations in the region of Central Africa (including ten countries) for the period 2014-2020. The announcement will be made during a more than two-day event to discuss development cooperation with Ministers and other authorities of the involved countries and regional organisations.

The new funding, still subject to confirmation by the EU Member States, will aim to benefit the 162 million citizens living in a region that has suffered from a number of armed conflicts as well as chronic poverty and malnutrition. Future programmes are expected to support investments that generate growth, improve access to basic social services (e.g. health, energy), reduce food insecurity and promote peace and stability.

Commissioner Piebalgs commented: "There are many challenges ahead in the region of Central Africa: poverty and malnutrition, lack of access to energy, proper infrastructures or strong public institutions, are all putting a break in the countries' development and their population wellbeing. The EU is firmly committed to working with partner countries to tackle those challenges".