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Agence Française de Développement

TAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

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AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENTTAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

Health crisis, West Africa © All rights reserved

“At a time when crises are becoming entrenched or escalating, […] we have a responsibility to enhance our financial tools and intervention methods.” Laurent Fabius

Social and political violence, which is often related to the extreme fragility of certain States and societies, poses a major challenge to the development community. Today, it is recognized that there is no security without development and no development without a mini-mum of human security. Indeed, none of the low-income countries that are experiencing or have recently experienced a situation of war has achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while several characteristics of underdevelopment constitute a breeding ground for armed violence: State authority and public services absent over large areas of the country, social and geographic inequalities, food insecurity… Consequently, reducing the structural factors of State fragility and managing crises and their impacts have become two important priorities of international aid.

AFD is faced with crisis situations in many of the countries where it operates. This term covers various issues:

Countries in armed conflict or recently emerged from conflict;

Countries facing a natural disaster or sudden health crisis – such as the Ebola epidemic;

Failing States, which are struggling to perform the vital missions of public authority;

Societies that are divided, unstable or marked by pockets of instability and violence.

In these situations, as elsewhere, AFD’s mandate is to assist the process of economic and social development or contribute to creating the basis for its emergence. To achieve this, its must tai-lor its intervention methods to the specificities of these contexts. It is for this reason that, at the request of its line ministries and in close consultation with the other relevant French and European actors, AFD has adopted a specific approach for its operations in situations of crisis, post-crisis or extreme fragility of States and societies. This framework for action was approved by its Board in 2013 and sets out four main orientations.

Key figures

Nearly a quarter of the world’s population, i.e. over 1.5 billion people, live in countries affected by a violent conflict.

A major episode of violence can erase the economic progress achieved during a generation.

40 % of countries emerging from armed conflict fall back into conflict within ten years.

Some 2.6 billion people have been affected by a natural disaster over the past ten years, against 1.6 billion during the previous decade.

95 % of deaths caused by natural disasters occur in developing countries.

Less than 0.5 % of international aid has been spent on crisis prevention over the past 25 years.

Source: World Bank, UN.

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AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENTTAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

Preventing conflicts between herders and farmers in the Sahel

In an unstable environment, local conflicts can fuel regional or even international tensions. This is the case in the Sahel where the combined effects of population growth, climate change impacts and refugee flows give rise to conflicts, which often crystallize around the use of natural resources. AFD works to reduce these root causes of conflict and contain the spread of violence at regional level by implementing programs to manage land disputes between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. These programs aim to achieve both rapid results for these communities and, in the long term, strengthen institutions that will enable a sustainable management of resources.

The pastoral water programs financed for 15 years now in Chad facilitate compromises between communities by securing access to grazing land through the creation of water points and the marking out of transhumance corridors – in consultation with sedentary communities. AFD is today financing pastoral water projects in Chad. This includes the Almy Bahaïm project (water for livestock) in the East and Almy al Afia project (water for peace) in the center of the country. Several new projects are in the process of being appraised, in close cooperation with the European Commission and World Bank, in other countries of the Sahel band that are affected by similar tensions.

“Do no harm”In these situations, the first orientation consists in conducting a more in-depth analysis of the context, particularly of the local conflicts and power relations on which AFD’s decisions will be based. As with any external action, development assistance can have unintended effects. Consequently, the overarching objective of this approach is to not inadvertently contribute to fuelling the crisis or the structural weaknesses in which it takes root. This involves gaining an under-standing of all the economic, social, political and environmental components of the situation in order to grasp more effectively their causes and dynamics. This approach allows AFD to be better pre-pared to identify and take account of potential barriers to the implementation of projects.

Prioritize “dual operations” combining development and preventionA second principle for action in these contexts involves focusing on “dual operations”, which allow development projects to be designed as tools to prevent crises and violence. Dual operations aim to finance a development good (such as an improvement in social services, public infrastructure, economic productivity or environmental conservation), as is the case for all the projects financed by AFD, while adding an additional objective: contribute to reducing key fragilities and to reinforcing the capacity of States and societies to tackle the next crises.

Water program in the Sahel © Jean-Bernard Véron

Four principles for intervention in crisis and fragile situations

“Do no harm”: avoid unintended consequences on conflict and fragility.

Prioritize “dual operations” combining development and prevention.

Link relief, rehabilitation and development operations more systematically.

Work more closely with international partners through joint actions.

These four principles are underpinned by one priority: base AFD’s action on a more thorough analysis of contexts and their development.

Source: Crosscutting Intervention Framework 2013-2015 “Crisis Prevention and Post-conflict”

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AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENTTAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

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More effectively coordinate emergency and development operationsA third principle for AFD’s action in crisis or post-conflict situa-tions, in the aftermath of a natural disaster for example, involves more effectively coordinating emergency operations led by humanitarian actors and projects supported by development donors like AFD. While financing for humanitarian action does not fall within the mandate entrusted to AFD, Agence Française de Développement works to ensure more coherence and continu-ity between humanitarian interventions and development financ-ing. The aim is to reduce tensions between the response to immediate and long-term needs. This sometimes requires being able to take swift action, alongside humanitarian aid workers, in order to facilitate the takeover by development actions. Indeed, the decisions taken during the emergency phase have

impacts on the recovery capacities of communities and on the long-term development processes. Conversely, only long-term action will build the capacity of societies and States to cope with health, environmental or political crises.

This approach makes it possible to combine swift action to save lives and long-term action to assist local actors in the reconstruc-tion of their country. The mobilization of the complementary expertise of humanitarian aid workers and developers to support local partners ensures that international aid is more effective.

Central African Republic: Innovating to face an extreme situation – the “Bêkou” Fund

The international community has achieved mixed results in terms of post-crisis stabilization and reconstruction. The Bêkou Fund (which means “hope” in Sango) meets the need to reach a new level in terms of coordinating international aid in these contexts. The European Commission and Dutch, German, and French cooperation have decided to pool not only financing but also analysis and implementation capacities to manage the crisis in the Central African Republic.

The Bêkou Fund was set up to give communities access to essential services (water and sanitation, food, healthcare, etc.) and revive economic activity as soon as the security situation allows this. The Fund also finances actions in neighboring countries affected by the crisis with a view to prevention. It promotes synergy between the actions of the international partners who will support the Central African authorities during the post-crisis period in the coming years.

“I am pleased that this French initiative has led so rapidly to a real European partnership to help stabilize the Central African Republic.”Anne Paugam, Chief Executive Officer of AFD

Enhance coordination with international partners by acting togetherEffective coordination between international actors plays a fundamental role in the success of the actions conducted in situations of crisis. In view of the scale of these challenges, AFD’s policy is to base its operations on a collective framework that coordinates the expertise and resources of all international actors: other bilateral donors (such as the UK’s DFID or Germany’s KfW), European Commission, multilateral institutions (UN agencies, African Development Bank, World Bank…), non-governmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector and, of course, the other French public institutions: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Ministry of Defence, and international technical assistance operators. The construction of lasting peace requires a partner-ship between all local and international actors.

Syrian refugees © AFD, Soraya Gouyette

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AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENTTAKING ACTION IN SITUATIONS OF FRAGILITY, CRISIS AND VIOLENCE

Syria, Lebanon, Jordan: Preventing tensions between refugees and host communities

The influx of Syrian refugees puts pressure on public services in certain regions in Jordan and Lebanon: water scarcity, increase in sanitation needs, saturation of education and health facilities, etc. AFD has decided to support populations who host refugees in order to help them address the increase in demand for public services and thereby prevent tensions between refugees and host communities, which could jeopardize social cohesion or trigger new cycles of violence.

EUR 4m were mobilized early in the crisis to help the most affected local authorities. This project has been designed in close partnership with the public authorities along with international and local NGOs. It includes psychosocial care for traumatized populations via individual and collective (families, communities) activities.

Adapt our approach and tailor our instrumentsThe proliferation of crisis situations means that donors have to better prepare for them when they occur. Indeed, while each crisis is unique and requires specific responses, what all crisis situations have in common is the extreme volatility of the situation. In order to tailor its activity and organization to the development of the situation, AFD has adapted its financial instruments. This approach, combined with an anticipation process, improves the responsiveness and flexibility of AFD’s financing.

Dealing with trauma by mainstreaming psychosocial components into post‑crisis projectsIn order to take the human consequences of conflicts into account, AFD contributes to the management of individual and collective trauma in post-crisis or post-conflict countries. An important condition to ensure that development projects are fully successful is to foster the reconstruction of social ties in societies that are fragile and very often divided.

Indeed, the violence and losses experienced by populations affect the dynamics of community life, as well as the internal resources of the exposed families and individuals. The psychosocial components of the projects financed by AFD make it possible, through group activities and individual care, to work on the ability of communities to live together and plan for the future. These are prerequisites for the creation of both human and economic wealth.

In Côte d’Ivoire, a psychosocial component has been included in the Health System Reinforcement Project financed by the Debt Reduction-Development Contract (C2D). This program is being conducted in partnership with four French and international NGOs and the European agency ECHO. It contributes to reconciling com-munities who have been divided by the recent episodes of violence.

Psychosocial activities with children, Ivory Coast © S. Richard

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Afghanistan © Oriane Zerah

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT

5 rue Roland Barthes 75598 Paris Cedex 12 – France Tél. +33 1 53 44 31 31 Fax +33 1 44 87 99 39 www.afd.fr

CROSSCUTTING SUPPORT DEPARTMENT (DAT)

CRISIS PREVENTION AND POST‑CONFLICT UNIT (CCC)

AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT

AFD, the Agence Française de Développement , is a public development-finance institution that has worked for seventy years to alleviate poverty and foster sustainable development in the developing world and in the French Overseas Provinces. AFD executes the French government’s development aid policies.

Working on four continents, AFD has seventy-one field offices and bureaus, including nine in France’s overseas provinces and one in Brussels. The Agency provides financing and support for projects that improve living conditions, promote economic growth, and protect the planet.

In 2013, AFD committed €7.8 billion to projects in developing and emerging countries and in the French Overseas Provinces. These AFD-financed projects will provide schooling for children, improve maternal health, promote equality between men and women, support farmers and small businesses, and bolster access to drinking water, transportation and energy. These newly-funded projects will also help mitigate climate disruption by abating nearly 3.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent annually.

FFEM

The French Global Environment Facility / Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) is a bilateral public fund initiated by the French Government in 1994. The FFEM secretariat and its financial management are entrusted to the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The FFEM co-finances projects that encourage the protection of the global environment in developing countries. Its co-financing is exclusively done as grants and is used for the implementation of pilot projects that combine environmental protection and economic development in the recipient countries. The FFEM is an influential strategic instrument for the French policy on Official Development Assistance regarding global environmental protection. Its activities focus on the topics of biodiversity, international waters, the climate change, land degradation and desertification, persistent organic pollutants and the stratospheric ozone layer. By the end of 2013, the FFEM has co-financed 258 projects with €299m. Two thirds were spent on sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean.

www.ffem.fr

PROPARCO, AFD’s subsidiary dedicated to private investment, promotes private investment in emerging and developing countries in order to boost growth, promote sustainable development and reach the Millennium Development Goals. Its financing is tailored to the specific needs of investors in the productive sector, financial systems, infrastructure and private equity investment.

www.proparco.fr

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