OREANDA-NEWS.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we share the stories of 25 women from across the African continent whose lives have dramatically improved, thanks to interventions financed by the African Development Bank. 

Liliam Makosa

Transboundary Animal Diseases Project, Zambia

Using Digital Pen technology, veterinarian Liliam Makosa can alert the regional animal health authorities almost instantly if there’s a new case of foot and mouth or any other bovine disease.

Paired to a cell phone, the device can provide real-time information.

“The reporting systems have become very efficient now. Sometimes if there’s an emergency I might not meet my boss there and then to report the issue but with this one wherever he is he will get the report”, says Liliam proudly.

Animal diseases can wreak economic havoc not just on smallhold farms, but also on a nation’s valuable exports. Five SADC countries with Zambia in their midst were assisted by the African Development Bank’s Transboundary Animal Disease project. Support was made available to develop the means to rapidly detect and identify outbreaks of disease as well as its prevention and the monitoring of livestock health. Ultimately the aim is to create wealth and enhance rural livelihoods.

Marwa El Hazgmi

Rural Drinking Water Distribution Program, Tunisia

Marwa El Hazgmi, a housewife and mother of three, is now connected to the main supply which she says means she “can organise her day better”. And avoid the two-hour journey on foot to fetch water from a public well. “The water has made it easier to do the housework, but the best thing is that the children are cleaner now,” she says.

Tunisia would appear to have few problems when it comes to water distribution. 100% of the country’s city dwellers have access to water and the vast majority of the rural population is in a similar position. Yet there remain dry pockets in some rural areas of Tunisia. Since 2012 a new, $140-million drinking water distribution program has been in place. It is expected to provide access to water to over 350,000 people and is being supported by the African Development Bank and the Government of Tunisia.

Lubna Karba

Medical Coverage Reform Support Programme, Morocco
Lubna Karba, aged 32 and mother of two, is now a Medical Assistance Regime cardholder, which means she has free access to complete care.

She is amongst the 8.5 million in Morocco that recent health reforms aim to benefit, not least by cutting down on waiting times.

Lubna is having her arm X-rayed for a relatively minor injury. She will be treated and her files processed rapidly through her medical insurance card.

Health expenditures in Morocco can still represent a heavy burden for households with records showing that until a few years ago, less than half of all costs were being met by the state or health insurance. Access to health care in Morocco was limited by the poor coverage of social protection mechanisms. Less than ten years ago just 32% of the population was insured either through compulsory health insurance or private insurance, now thanks to reforms in the care system and to RAMED, the new Medical Assistance Regime, officials say that number has increased to 53%.

Rachida Gheriani
Souk At-tanmia, Tunisia

The region of Kef in northern Tunisia suffers from high rates of unemployment and few prospects for local youth. Women too, often without much schooling, are destined to a life at home. Two years ago, a glimmer of hope came through a carpet-weaving cooperative called ‘Andi Sanaa’ or ‘I have a job’. Its founder, Rachida Gheriani, 56, obtained a grant from the AfDB’s Souk At-tanmia program. The cooperative has already created 20 jobs and provides members with a steady income, while also giving them a chance to make a go of it on their own.

“They will receive a diploma in carpet-weaving after they’ve been trained and then they’ll pass a test to show they can set up their own workshops.”

An entrepreneurship initiative conceived in 2012 by the African Development Bank and 19 co-sponsors, ‘Souk At-tanmia’ aims to generate jobs in a sustainable manner. Its organizers identified over 70 business ventures worthy of financial aid, and have since paired entrepreneurs with grants and sponsors to achieve their respective goals. The mission has already brought new hope to projects and increased employment in the poorest regions of Tunisia, and much needed attention to businesses with a high impact on women, youth, and other vulnerable populations.

Sabine Nibere
Rural Water and Sanitation Program, Rwanda

Freshly pumped water now reaches the village and the locals can fill a jerry can for less than 2 cents US. Schoolgirl Sabine Nibere, 13, collects water from the distribution centre in her village. Sabine says she can now spend more time doing her homework and getting an education as opposed to trekking for miles to fetch water for her family regardless of the risk, the terrain or the weather.

Parts of the remote and hilly rural areas of Rwanda are finally able to enjoy the benefits of clean water and sanitation facilities after major infrastructure projects have been completed, providing dozens of villages and upwards of 400,000 inhabitants with mains water. Among the results of clean water from standpipes, water pumps and improved sanitation are a significant drop in water-related diseases. Women and children are among the greatest beneficiaries, as the arrival of water closer to their doorsteps means an end to the centuries-old and back-breaking chore of fetching water from far afield.

Kamel el-Idriss el-Hassania
Financial Sector Development Support Programme (PADESFI), Morocco

In Casablanca, Kamel el-Idriss el-Hassania helps one of her daughters tackle that day’s homework. Her family were able to use a $16,000 loan to purchase a home of their own for the first time in 2013. Previously, el-Hassania and her family shared a house with her brother-in-law. “Psychologically there has been a great change,” she says. “We used to be in a small house…and with our girls and their boys growing up there wasn’t enough space for everyone to have their own room. We’re calmer now, our life is more comfortable.”

Morocco has a young and vibrant population. Yet those who wish to improve their own and their families’ lives have been hampered by a financial system providing loans against collateral or guarantees. Now a project aimed at improving access to financial services and strengthening the sector’s governance has gone a long way to helping reduce poverty, boost small business and ease access to social housing. The African Development Bank and other international institutions provided funding of over $500 million for the program.

We no longer fear rape…
Rural Water and Sanitation Program, Rwanda

Until very recently the women of the village of Bisate had to risk more than exhaustion in walking through thick forest to fetch water. The women feared being attacked and raped. This social issue is being tackled and incidences of violence have now fallen significantly due to improved accessibility of water being supplied near homes.

Parts of the remote and hilly rural areas of Rwanda are finally able to enjoy the benefits of clean water and sanitation facilities after major infrastructure projects have been completed, providing dozens of villages and upwards of 400,000 inhabitants with mains water. Among the results of clean water from standpipes, water pumps and improved sanitation are a significant drop in water-related diseases. Women and children are among the greatest beneficiaries, as the arrival of water closer to their doorsteps means an end to the centuries-old and back-breaking chore of fetching water from far afield.

Maria do Comcei?ao Lopes Tavares Semedo
PABV: Watershed Management Project, Cape Verde

Storekeeper Maria do Comcei?ao Lopes Tavares Semedo can now afford to send her two daughters to university in Portugal.

She borrowed the equivalent of almost $4,000 at the project’s favourable rates. With that, she says she bought vegetables and other produce and sold it in town for a profit and repaid her loan.

And, as sometimes eating sparks a bigger appetite, she borrowed more money and continued to do well.

She adds that she would have taken out a third loan had not the project ended, temporarily at least.

The Picos and Engenhos Watershed Management Project on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, helped reduce rural poverty through soil conservation and optimizing water resources. An intricate and technically challenging network of irrigation systems and wells and reservoirs was constructed over a seven-year period together with several new dams.

The African Development Bank also helped organize and support vocational training.

Courses in long-term agricultural produce, constructional and agricultural engineering, and livestock management or pasture improvement were made available. The participants were mostly women. The project allowed significant improvement in access to water for both agricultural and domestic use and the development of dozens of micro businesses in livestock farming and market gardening.

Nana Beatrice Ansah Akua
REP: Rural Enterprises Programme, Ghana

Nana Beatrice Ansah Akua owns the Cassava Processing Group. The new and improved machinery “has allowed me to produce a lot more cassava flour”, she says, as well providing jobs in her flourishing enterprise. An astute businesswoman, she says her training in business management has converted her company into an efficient production line where the cassava is pressed, grated, fried, dried, sieved and finally packaged. The first stage, the peeling, is still carried out manually.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) was asked by the Ghanaian government to lend its technical and financial support to the Rural Enterprise Project, an effort to reduce poverty and improve living conditions in the rural areas of the country.

11 million Ghanaians live in the country’s rural districts and have often been left behind in the process of modernisation, forcing many to abandon ancestral lands and head for the cities and an uncertain future.

An ongoing program, REP’s successful projects will be increased and the next phase will run into 2017 bringing total support from the AfDB to more than $70 million.