Cindy-Lou Dale

Providing help is providing hope, this is the ethos of Belgium, a cultural melting pot of some 10.5-million socially conscious citizens from across Europe and Africa who take multi-ethnicity in their stride.

Most people will agree that every country in the world has shaped history in some way. The United States gave us the telephone and the Korean War; Britain the steam engine and colonialism; and South Africa the Cat-Scan and Nelson Mandela; but few realise the significant role a small European country would have on Africa and the daily lives of others around the world.

Belgium could comfortably fit into South Africa’s province of Natal three times over, yet despite its size it bursts with Nobel Prize winning inventors, Olympic champions, internationally acclaimed musicians and actors, composers, and world renowned artists. Perhaps most of us would have survived without TinTin, Hercule Poirot or the Manneke Pis, but what about the saxophone, the internal combustion engine, the stroboscope, Bakelite, the electric railway or the Dynamo?

With few natural resources, Belgium needs to import substantial quantities of raw materials. In 2006 Belgium’s total imports are estimated at €234 billion - mainly machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment and oil products. Of this €6.2 billion was sourced from Africa.

Social Responsibility

As a whole, Africa holds great economic and social interests for Belgium - the sub-Sahara in particular where Belgian authorities are working to promote peace and stability, respect for democracy and human rights, good economic governance, development cooperation and economic reconstruction. Belgium is also backing NGOs with substantial support. 
  
Historically, Belgium’s colonial past is not without controversy, but through its development and humanitarian efforts hopes to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. This is the commitment made by thousands of Belgian development projects currently implemented in Africa.

African Development

If improving the lot of millions of men, women and children is everyone’s business, development cooperation definitely is too. Belgium’s official development assistance totals some 0.50% of the country’s gross national income, placing it eighth in the world rankings of donor countries.

The lion’s share goes to the Great Lakes region of central Africa were Belgium is promoting sustainable development, concentrating on five key areas: basic education and training, basic healthcare and reproductive health, agriculture and food security, basic infrastructure and community building, and conflict prevention.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Aid of over €175-million (debt cancellation included) has been spent on increasing the capacity of the central and local administrative apparatus and strengthening the DRCs civil society. An additional €25-million is being used for improving their living conditions and creating jobs - the supply of drinking water to major cities, clean-up operations and repairs to minor roads and harbour facilities, which is all being taken care of by the locals.

Belgium also promotes good economic governance and transparency in the DRCs key sectors, like mining, transport and public finances. Together with two other organisations, Belgium has organised an ‘improving governance’ conference and has sponsored an economic seminar in Lubumbashi (southern Congo).

Other DRC projects include the Belgian city of Liege who is helping Lubumbashi, and Brussels who is assisting Kinshasa with their administrative duties and provision of social services. Also, several Belgian university councils have joined forces to assist Congolese universities in the domains of education and scientific research. Some thirty Belgian NGOs are actively involved in extending basic healthcare provisions.

Belgium is the largest participating donor and coordinator of the United Nations multilateral programme aimed at combating sexual violence against women in war-torn eastern Congo. The programme provides victims with medical care, psychological support and legal protection. Apart from securing equal rights for women, sourcing financial backers in the fight against female poverty, and health care during pregnancy, by 2015 Belgium also plans to achieve development on the educational front and be able to offer free primary education for all children, as well as the purchase and distribution of primary schoolbooks and further teacher training.

Rwanda
The central African country that receives most Belgian government aid is Rwanda. Of the €140-million pledged until 2010, a large chunk is going to rural development in the form of support for agriculture, drinking water and power supplies, €40-million is being spent on the health sector, €24-million on good governance, and €15.5-million on education. Current Rwandan projects include construction of micro-hydroelectric power stations, training of nursing staff and reequipping primary schools.

Burundi
Burundi has received consistent Belgian developmental assistance which continues until 2009. By then a total of €60-million would have been spent on projects which include support of Burundi’s Agricultural Research Institute for the production of seeds; rehabilitation of health centres at Mwaro and Kirundo; national police force reformation; school infrastructure and teaching equipment; payment of outstanding salaries to Burundi’s teaching staff; rural housing and local construction material; and support to women and children who are AIDS victims. A further €15-million has been targeted to improve the quality of Burundi’s roads, power supply and national employment situation.

Belgium is also providing support in the domains of justice, internal reconciliation, encouraging the voluntary return of refugees and the fate of the country's orphans.

South Africa

Following a recent economic mission to South Africa, Belgium has focused on the expansion of care and support of the health programme targeting TB, HIV and STI prevention.

In 2003 the Belgium government pledged €3-million to assist in incorporating policy directives into community policing.

€12-million has been earmarked for land restitution particularly assisting in ownership verification during which process bone fide claimants are vetted and legally attached to their rightful land.

Other African nations

The Belgian government helps to ensure food security in twenty African countries by attacking long-term food related problems.

In Benin for example, the focus is on improving production systems by managing the fertility and the quality of the soil and making vegetable, animal and fish production more attractive; in Kenya the income of rural people has increased through the integrated use of natural resources; and in Niger a cattle breeding programme has been implemented to boost productivity by improving genetics.

Amongst its numerous Ugandan projects, in 2006 Belgian donated €5-million to a five-year programme launching an environmental project supporting the sanitation in the shanty towns in and around Kampala.

In Morocco, Algeria and Senegal, a reliable water supply project started up in 1995 - a prerequisite for developing arable and livestock farming.

Belgium has close relations with countries like Niger, Benin and Mali in which various projects are underway. Similarly close ties exist with east Africa where funds have been released to help people affected by humanitarian crises.

Reinvestment IQ

But it doesn’t end there. Through the MIDA programme, run by the International Organisation for Migration, the Belgian Development Cooperation supports educated immigrants from central Africa who reinvest their knowledge and experience in the socio-economic development of their home country.

The side your seldom see

Television news bombards us daily with images of global destruction, famine, disease and war. Often we despair at the future mankind is forging for itself. However, what the news does not show is a modified trend amongst a select few first world governments, like Belgium, who can see the potential in Africa. You see, by providing a little help gives mankind a little more hope.

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