The African Union Commission (AUC) will benefit from an US$11.48mn grant from the African Development Fund to strengthen its governance and provide it with institutional support
Approval for the grant, from the Fund’s regional public goods window, came a few days ahead of the 35th ordinary session of the African Union Assembly, which closed on Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina and African Union Commission deputy chair Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa met on 3 February to discuss the organisation’s future and challenges. The grant will contribute to the institutional capacity building for the African Union Project, designed to improve the AUC’s capacity to drive Agenda 2063. Agenda 2063 is the African Union’s vision for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
In 2017, the AUC launched a comprehensive institutional reform process to make the institution more nimble, efficient and financially self-sufficient. The project will continue those reforms through upgrading its systems, as well as improving planning, coordination, and service delivery capacities.
A portion of the funds would be allocated to the AUC’s disaster risk reduction practices, and climate change adaptation mechanisms, while support for women will include developing the commission’s gender and youth mainstreaming guidelines and related activities over and above the support towards the AU’s institutional reform.
The AfDB has been a long-term partner to the African Union’s development agenda, supporting programmes such as its Development Agency-NEPAD programme for infrastructure development in Africa. It also supports the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Climate for Development in Africa Program.
The total cost of the project is US$12.6mn, including an in-kind counterpart contribution from the African Union.
