Vienna, Austria, December 11, 2015. Over 24 partner countries stand to benefit from the latest round of financing approved at the 153rd Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
Public sector approvals amount to nearly US$154m and comprise the following: See complete table
Grant funding totaling US$3.36m was also approved for the following projects/programs:
ECOWAS Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE). US$860,000. To provide communities, businesses, small enterprises and public buildings with access to modern energy services through the implementation of mini-grid schemes in Benin, Cape Verde, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Over 4,200 people are expected to directly benefit from the project.
Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture (FPSC). US$400,000. To improve the socioeconomic prospects of disadvantaged women in the Gran Asunción metropolitan area in Paraguay and indigenous women from small rural communities in Guatemala. This will include providing vocational training courses and coaching, as well as building a vocational training center in Paraguay.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). US$500,000. To support a project that will improve water and sanitation infrastructure and services, and carry out hygiene promotion campaigns in Haiti to reduce the incidence of cholera in high-risk areas.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). US$500,000. To support the second phase of an HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support program in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan for women who use drugs, are in prison settings or have spouses who are drug users.
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). US$500,000. To provide safe, reliable alternative (solar, biogas) energy solutions to around 3,000 people in seven rural and marginalized areas in Palestine to improve livelihoods and living standards.
United Nations Development Program/Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP). US$600,000. To expand and upgrade the chemotherapy department at the Augusta Victoria Hospital and provide equipment and furniture to boost access to cancer treatment services in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.
Five financing facilities totalling US$87m were also approved under OFID’s private sector business activities. Two will support financial institutions in expanding their lending activities to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Another will support a lending institution that extends loans to small and medium-sized agribusinesses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Financing will also be provided in support of an agricultural production facility in Mozambique and to help improve the generation and transmission of electricity in Zambia.
Under OFID’s trade finance facility, US$10m was approved to a financing facility that supports import and export related financial transactions for corporates in Georgia.