- Switzerland and Spain donate $5mn each to support environmentally friendly and climate-resilient urbanization in Africa.
- African countries remain the most vulnerable to climate change and are the least prepared to deal with its impacts.
To encourage equitable, environmentally friendly, and climate-resilient urbanization in Africa, Spain, the Swiss Confederation through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have all announced financial support. The $10 million in new funding will benefit African nations and communities hardest hit by climate change.
The Urban and Municipal Development Fund of the AfDB Group has received confirmation of two donations from Switzerland and Spain, totalling about $5 million each (UMDF). This topical trust fund supports egalitarian, environmentally friendly, and climate-resilient urbanization in vulnerable African nations.
Africa is projected to face the fastest urban growth rate in the world – at around 3.2% per annum. By 2050 it is expected that about 1.5 billion people will live in Africa’s towns and cities – an additional urban population of 900 million people. At the same time, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, African countries remain the most vulnerable to climate change. They are the least prepared to deal with its impacts.
Commenting on the announcement, Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, the SECO’s head of economic cooperation and development and the Swiss governor for the African Development Bank, affirmed Switzerland’s recognition of the importance of cities to push economic growth in countries and the vulnerability these cities in Africa face with regards to climate change.