While keeping an eye on the deteriorating security and political landscape in the Sahel, Luxembourg has continued and stepped up its commitment to health, human rights, research and regional governance, particularly in West Africa and the Sahel.
We mention below some key examples of this regional cooperation.
In the health sector, support to the Senegalese NGO ENDA Santé entered its second year in 2024 as part of the CARES II project (€5.7 million; 2023-2027), which aims to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for individuals with sexually transmitted infections in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. The FEVE IMPULSE project, also implemented by ENDA Santé as part of efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, entered its mid-term review phase, a critical step in ensuring the project’s intended outcomes are achieved and maximising its impact (€7.3 million; 2022-2026).
In addition, in 2024 Luxembourg continued to support the Universal Health Coverage Partnership led by the World Health Organization (the WHO). That programme aims to strengthen the capacity of 116 beneficiary countries to develop and implement robust and comprehensive health policies, strategies and plans that promote universal health coverage and ensure access to high-quality and affordable health care for all. Luxembourg’s technical support for this programme is provided by six experts stationed at WHO offices in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Cabo Verde and Laos (€29.8 million; 2013-2024).
Secondly, the WHO’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), co-sponsored by UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, aims to build health research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of this effort, the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), in Senegal, was selected in 2020 to act as a sub-regional training centre for the TDR programme and to respond to the high demand for public health master’s scholarships for students from Francophone countries in sub-Saharan Africa (€1.23 million; 2022-2024). Lastly, in 2024 Luxembourg Development Cooperation continued its support to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Niger. This support focuses on improving the response capacities of food safety authorities, particularly with regard to street food (€1.9 million; 2022-2025).
In 2024, Luxembourg Development Cooperation continued partnerships with organisations committed to protecting human rights, in particular through projects implemented by the Front Line Defenders and the International Service for Human Rights NGOs (see Human Rights section).
In order to support the communities most affected by instability in the Sahel, Luxembourg decided for the first time to support the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), a fund to prevent violent extremism and terrorism, through a regional programme in the Sahel focused on empowering women and girls, particularly survivors of extremist violence (€1.2 million; 2024-2026). In addition, in the field of conflict mediation, Luxembourg established a second partnership in 2024 with the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), following the success of earlier cooperation. The Centre works to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflicts through dialogue and mediation in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea (€4 million; 2025-2026).
In the area of research and support for academic institutions, in 2024 Luxembourg Development Cooperation entered into a new partnership with the University of Luxembourg to launch an inter-university cooperation project in West Africa. The project supports the skills development of young researchers in law and economics from Burkina Faso, Niger, Cabo Verde, Senegal and Benin (€500,000; 2025-2027).
At the end of 2024, Luxembourg renewed its partnership with the International Crisis Group (ICG) for the 2025 to 2027 period, allowing the think-tank to enhance its analysis of political and security developments in the Sahel region and in Ukraine (€600,000; 2025-2027). Lastly, Luxembourg reiterated its substantial commitment to the development of the Sahel region, particularly through its involvement in the Sahel Alliance, which it joined in March 2018. It participated in the coordination bodies, including the most recent General Assembly held in Berlin in July 2024 (€200,000; 2022-2024).