Malta enhances humanitarian, development aid commitment

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Overseas Development Aid, has part-financed 18 projects by local charitable organisations with projects in Africa, Asia, South and Central America, with the allocation of more than €260,000 during 2011.

The Ministry helped by co-financing projects as follows:

* The installation of a sand filter system in Ethiopia, which will be located next to a clinic which provides basic care and treatment for the poor and will serve as a great incentive for a campaign about drinking water.

* The expansion of a water supply system, to provide safe water and promote safe hygiene and sanitation practices in the identified villages in Chena and Enamour Words in Ethiopia.

* The purchasing of equipment for an HIV/AIDS section at the Hop exchange Medical Centre in Ghana.

* The construction of a new maternity wing in Tanzania to provide better facilities for expectant mothers, better care for mothers at risk and further decrease the infant morbidity and mortality rate.

* The construction of classrooms and sanitation facilities for school children in Peru.

* The setting up of rain water harvesting systems and the refurbishment of several classrooms in Uganda.

* To construct a study centre for street children and for those who attend the school in Ethiopia. This includes a lodging quarter which may be used by both students and sick children on their way to Addis Ababa or Sudan for specialised care.

* The construction of a Youth Formation Centre with dormitories, a conference hall, study rooms and other facilities in the Philippines.

* The training of uneducated and untrained women in local development processes which they will initiate and own in South Sudan. Small enterprises and a development association will be created to provide training that will lead to more people benefiting from the project.

* The construction of 30 houses to shelter and accommodate homeless families in Arequipa, Peru.

* To construct a Home for homeless lepers in Ethiopia. The project will provide 70 families with shelter and accommodation and will also include basic education, healthcare and a meal per day for 234 children.

* The provision of health services to persons living with HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children; to intensify and enhance the community-based care and support services as well as protective practices for vulnerable children and their families. This project will take place in Ethiopia and will be of direct benefit to 50 households of persons living with HIV/AIDS and 100 households of HIV/AIDS.

* Contribution to the eradication of severe poverty in Kenya with the main objective of providing support to a slum educational institution and a community centre in Nairobi.

* The proposed project is divided in two parts: Phase 2 of a Residence building, and the construction of a computer class and two blocks of toilets in Peru.

* The building of a sports complex in Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras, which is to be used by youths in their free time with the aim of keeping them away from drugs.

* Continuation of the work being done on the Fish Farm in Izabal, Guatemala. This will involve the organisation of seminars and hands on training sessions to the local fishermen and local authorities as to how to increase food production from the many water bodies that abound in the Izabal diocese.

* The construction of a residence in the Philippines in which the Aetas community can reside in from Monday to Friday in order to be able to pursue their university studies. This residence will have enough space to host 12 persons.

* The purchase of furnishings for a new block in Joseph De Piro Middle School for girls in Asif Town 2, Juhannabad, Lahore, Pakistan. The construction of the block was co-funded by the Ministry's 2010 ODA projects call through CAM Youths.

The ministry also sponsored an educational visit for Palestinian students from Nablus University. A familiarisation visit of Palestinian mayors to Malta was organised in coordination with the Parliamentary Secretary for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue. The aim of this visit was to acquaint the Mayors with the system of local government and the competencies of local councils.

Malta also contributed the amount of €30,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees. It also sponsored two NGO officials from SKOP to attend the Development Education Summer School (DESS) which took place this summer in Finland.

In response to the earthquake in New Zealand, Malta contributed €15,000, while the sum of €23,000 was allocated to Japan in response to the earthquake and tsunami. In response to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, Malta allocated €25,000 to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

During the recent Libyan conflict, the Maltese government provided humanitarian assistance and solidarity with the Libyan people in providing medical care and supplies as well as provisions of food and water.

Transportation of badly injured Libyan nationals was provided for treatment in local hospitals. The Maltese authorities also provided evacuation and repatriation for thousands of stranded Third Country Nationals to their country of origin. Malta's contribution in humanitarian assistance to Libya during the uprisings totalled €1.2 million.

Malta also showed its support for democratic transition and stability by offering student exchanges to representatives of the Libyan National Transitional Council as well as to representatives of Tunisian civil society and the Egyptian government.

The government is providing scholarships to Tunisian students. The package of assistance was divided into two, each tranche to be availed of separately. The first tranche, which had to be availed of in 2011, consisted of one scholarship for a Master of Diplomacy within the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, and ten English Language Scholarships, to be availed of at the Institute of English Language within the University of Malta. The cost of these scholarships to Tunisian students totalled €28,000.

MFA is also allocating the amount of €8,400 to the Jesuits Missions for their project to purchase laboratory equipment for the set-up of science course in their training school in India. Presentation of this funding should take place before the end of this month

Under the Malta/Commonwealth Third Country Programme, the government administers a programme to train participants in Malta from developing countries of the Commonwealth. Malta's contribution towards the Malta Commonwealth Third Country Programme is a constant €59,124 each year. The six training courses are held annually in coastal management; IT and diplomacy; insurance management; banking and finance policies in small states; competitive strategies for small states; port operations and management programme; legal frameworks for ICTs, building capacity and implementing regulation. The government contributed €25,000 to Diplo Foundation for courses on climate change.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is cooperating with the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs on a three-year project of €800,000 aimed at financing climate change projects in Commonwealth member states.

Conforming to the Copenhagen Accord of 2009, the Maltese government committed funds to Maltese NGOs for projects to combat climate change. The funding will go towards the financing of six projects in Africa targeting access to water; sanitation; biogas and solar energy. Assistance will also be provided in training programmes related to these projects. The total cost of these projects is €300,000.

Five of these projects incorporate the drilling of bore holes and biogas techniques. The harvesting of clean water and the drilling of bore holes equipped with electric pumps aim to increase access to potable water and sanitation facilities. This will help local communities in dire need to have access to drinking water and basic sanitation, which will help reduce water-borne diseases, infant mortality and will generally improve quality of life as the lack of clean running water presents a major problem in developing countries.

Biogas projects will provide clean fuel for cooking which will reduce indoor air pollution and reduce the time needed for traditional biomass collection, especially for women and children. Biogas will also be used as organic fertilizer that potentially increases agricultural productivity. During the process, biomass waste transforms into methane producing renewable energy that can be used for heating, electricity, and many other operations. Owing to simplicity in implementation and use of cheap raw materials in villages, it is one of the most environmentally sound energy sources for rural needs.

One more project entails the installation of a solar power mini grid which will supply electricity to areas where there is unreliable public electricity supply or no electrical grid transmission lines. This solar power alternative is necessary in many developing countries, bringing electricity to people living in remote villages and also serves as an independent power supply solution.

Officials from the Development Unit regularly attended several Working Groups meetings held in Brussels. The Working Groups attended are the following: HAC (Humanitarian Aid Committee), EDD (European Development Days), DCI (Development Cooperation Instrument), EDF (European Development Fund), EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements), EU-Africa MDG Partnerships, Aid Effectiveness Committee and DG Development meetings. Malta. Together with the European Commission and other EU members, is also participating in the Africa-EU Partnership, which is a partnership on the MDGs between the European Union and the African Union.

In November 2011, the Development Unit organised an exhibition showcasing the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The exhibition was divided into 3 sections: 'ODA Projects', 'Humanitarian Aid' and 'International'.

The aim of the exhibition was to raise awareness amongst the general public on Malta's role in development cooperation and humanitarian aid, to highlight the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at international and European level to implement its commitments towards the developing world and humanitarian crisis-stricken countries, as well as to serve as an opportunity by which to offer more transparency as to the use of ODA funds by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Malta is committed to the objective of reaching a level of 0.17% of ODA/GNI by 2010 and to allocate more funds within its budget so as to increase its ODA/GNI ratio to 0.33% by 2015. In this regard, Malta has already achieved and exceeded the intermediate individual ODA targets that had been agreed upon; in fact Malta's ODA reached a level of 0.18% of GNI for this year.