OREANDA-NEWS. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed loan agreements with the Government of the Republic of Senegal in Dakar to provide Japanese ODA loans of up to a total of 35.903 billion yen for assistance for two projects.

Since gaining independence in 1960, the Republic of Senegal has maintained a stable civilian government without a coup d’?tat. As a gateway to countries in the interior of West Africa, Senegal is a key location for the intraregional flow of goods and economic activity. On the economic front, the expanding public-private investment in such areas as agriculture, fisheries, energy, infrastructure and the mining industry has contributed to economic growth in the country. Supported by favorable agricultural production, the real GDP growth rate of Senegal has risen steadily from 2.8 percent in 2013 to 4.7 percent in 2014 and 6.5 percent in 2015 (IMF, 2016).

In February 2014, the Government of Senegal established the Emerging Senegal Plan, prioritizing strategies toward becoming a newly emerging nation by 2035 and aiming for an economic growth rate of more than seven percent starting in 2020. Three pillars of the plan toward meeting these objectives are: 1) strengthening growing industries and promoting economic structural reform through development to create wealth and employment (including strengthening exports and promoting investment), 2) improving the living environment, ensuring social security and sustainable growth, and 3) strengthening peace, stability, governance, freedoms and human protections while maximizing the national potential for development.

The characteristics of the Japanese ODA loans provided by these agreements are described below.

(1) Strengthening the water supply capacity through a desalination project in the Dakar Metropolitan Area
Some 80 percent of Senegal’s industrial activities are concentrated in the Dakar Metropolitan Area, which is home to a rapidly growing population of approximately 3.1 million people (2013), or more than 20 percent of the country’s population, on only about 0.3 percent of the land. The demand for water is growing rapidly in proportion to the rising population, and the current water supply cannot meet the maximum daily demand. With the population expected to grow even further, increasing the water supply is a priority. The Mamelles Sea Water Desalination Project will construct a new desalination plant (production capacity: 50,000 cubic meters of water per day) in Dakar, capital city of Senegal, the first such facility in the country, and will also improve the urban water pipe network. By diversifying the water supply resources and strengthening the water supply capacity, this project aims to improve the living environment for people in the Dakar Metropolitan Area.

(2) Promotion of universal health coverage in Senegal
In accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015, the Government of Senegal has advanced measures in the health sector, including reducing the HIV infection rate and the under-five mortality rate. However, as of 2015, the under-five mortality rate (MDG4) was 47 per 1,000 births and the maternal mortality rate (MDG5) was 315 per 100,000 births, falling short of the MDGs of 44 (MDG4) and 127 (MDG5), respectively. There are also disparities in these statistics by region and economic level. Factors behind the lack of improvement in these indices include the challenge of physical access, particularly in rural areas where the few health care facilities that exist are often far away from users, and the challenge of economic access in which users of health care services cannot afford to pay for medical treatment. The objective of the Universal Health Coverage Support Program is to improve physical and economic access to health care services by promoting the establishment of health-related strategies such as financial policies providing financial support towards the achievement of universal health coverage under which everyone can receive appropriate preventative care, treatment, rehabilitation and other necessary health care services when needed at an affordable cost.