EU Trust Fund for Africa: €70 million to support local communities and protect migrants and refugees in the Sahel

The European Union has today adopted additional funding worth €70.23 million from the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to improve resilience, stability and migration management in countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region.
Instability in the Sahel is forcing people to leave their homes, sometimes risking their lives on perilous journeys. This additional €70 million in funding will help local communities to cope better with additional pressures stemming from internal displacements. The EUTF will also continue to assist migrants who wish to return from Libya, and help them to rebuild their lives. The EU will pursue its regional and national cooperation with partner countries, bringing greater stability to the region.

Two additional funding decisions

Additional funding worth €45.23 million will help the PDU programmeto improve stability in border areas between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Responding to a rise in armed attacks in the area, the programme seeks to improve local populations’ living conditions, in particular their access to water and sanitation. In addition, it boosts communities’ food security, fosters social cohesion and promotes conflict-prevention.
The other €25 million approved today will enable the UN Refugee Agency UNCHR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide protection and sustainable solutions to migrants and refugees along the Central Mediterrenean Route.
The UNHCR will receive €15 million to protect and assist refugees evacuated from Libya to Niger under the Emergency Transit Mechanism, and facilitate their resettlement. Part of the funding will boost UNHCR capacity to support peaceful coexistence of evacuees and host communities through small-scale quick impact projects.
The remaining €10 million will strengthen the IOM’s capacity to protect migrants and refugees, cover additional voluntary returns and manage sustainable and dignified reintegration in the Sahel and Lake Chad region under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative.

Background

The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa was established in 2015 to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management. EU institutions, EU Member States and other donors have so far allocated €4.6 billion to the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.
With the adoption of these top-ups, the Emergency Trust Fund now funds 224 programmes with a total of €4.441 billion. The funding is divided between three regions as follows: Sahel/Lake Chad, €2.023 billion (101 programmes); Horn of Africa, €1.611 billion (88 programmes); North of Africa, 807 million (31 programmes). This amount includes four cross-regional programmes.