Mrs Nicole Bintner- Bakshian, Ambassador of Luxembourg to Senegal, made her first working visit to the region of Ziguinchor on 27 and 28 March 2019.
During her stay, she held several working sessions with the administrative authorities and visited development projects supported by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Luxembourg is among the countries that respect the commitment to devote at least 0.7% of its Gross National Income (GNI) to development cooperation. In recent years, the
country has exceeded this target by allocating 1% of its GNI to this cause, while focusing on seven countries globally, including five in West Africa.
For more than 20 years, Luxembourg and Senegal have established a privileged development cooperation. The Senegal-Luxembourg Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP) IV, which is currently being implemented
, has a budget of 65 million euros and focuses on two priority areas: health and social protection, vocational and technical training, and youth employability.
Luxembourg also pays particular attention to civil society initiatives and supports in this framework several projects and programmes implemented by ENDA Santé in Senegal and
in 8 other West African countries in the field of health, environment, economic and social empowerment of vulnerable populations, innovation in health and
applied research.
On Wednesday 28 March 2019, the Ambassador and her delegation visited various projects implemented by ENDA Santé, including:
- The FEVE project (Frontiers and Vulnerabilities to HIV in West Africa), focusing on prevention, care and inter-country cooperation in the fight against AIDS among the most vulnerable populations in border areas
.
- The CARES project (Casamance Research program on HIV Resistance and sexual Health), which is involved in training health personnel, equipping health infrastructures
and providing care for the management and monitoring of hepatitis, cervical cancer and resistance to HIV treatment in Ziguinchor and Guinea
Bissau
- The VIMOS project (Sexual Violence and Genital Mutilation in Senegal) phases 1 and 2, focused on the promotion of a favourable environment to improve the health and well-being of young victims of violence, particularly sexual violence, in Casamance (Senegal) and neighbouring countries (Gambia, Guinea Bissau).
This project will enable the construction of a regional reception and training centre on violence, particularly sexual violence.
