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UNDP and SEforALL sign an agreement to unlock financing in the Sahel.
- About 175 million people lack electricity access in the region.
- The partnership aims to facilitate public and private investments for green mini-grids in the region.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) have agreed to partner in providing new investments for clean energy access in the Sahel. The partnership was signed at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York by Ahunna Eziakonwa, the Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Damilola Ogunbiyi, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.
Despite the abundant sunshine in the Sahel region, solar energy is largely underutilized, even as 51 per cent of the population (about 175 million) lack access to electricity. SEforALL notes that “the limited and unpredictable supply of electricity, combined with the high cost of electricity, hinders the development of businesses and economic activities, like fossil fuels and traditional biomass (charcoal, wood, dry dung) remain the main sources of energy, with serious consequences for the environment and human health.”
This new partnership will see both organisations support policy and regulatory frameworks through strengthened institutional capacity. These organisations believe that this will facilitate the unlocking of public and private sector investments for rural electrification through green off-grid and the deployment of clean cooking solutions.
The Sahel region is a semi-arid region that separates the Sahara desert in the north and the tropical savannahs in the south. The Sahel covers many West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal.