Italian development aid in brief

1. Background and main reasons for the presence of Italian Cooperation

Burkina Faso is one of the historic partners of the Italian Development Cooperation: in more than 25 years, Ouagadougou was the recipient of around €107 million in grants. Traditionally, the effort of the Italian Cooperation is focused on health and rural development, as well as on emergency initiatives. Burkina Faso has been lately restated as a priority country for the Italian Cooperation due to its prominent role in the Sahel region and Italy aims to strengthen this partnership, also in response to the food crisis determined by climatic and environmental emergencies, to the dynamics of food prices and, most recently, by the influx of people coming from Mali. During his visits in Ouagadougou in April and July 2012, the former Minister for International Cooperation, Andrea Riccardi, expressed the desire to redefine the collaboration between Italy and Burkina Faso in a more comprehensive and structured way. This has led to the Cooperation Framework Agreement signed by Minister Riccardi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Djibril Bassolé, during the latter's visit in Rome on 17th September 2012. The signing of such an important bilateral agreement and the re-opening of a Cooperation Office in Ouagadougou pave the way to the planning of future cooperation initiatives, which will be covered by the Cooperation Protocol for 2013-15, of which this paper is the main point of reference.

2. Other international donors, coordination and opportunities for division of labor, joint evaluation exercises (Harmonization)

In Burkina Faso there is a strong presence of important international donors, both multilateral (World Bank and European Union are the major contributors) and bilateral (such as France and the Netherlands). With the recent reopening of the Cooperation Office of Ouagadougou, it will be possible to resume a fruitful dialogue with the donor community, starting from the participation in the thematic working groups in which Italy has played – up to the recent past – a prominent role, particularly in the health care, gender and women's entrepreneurship sectors. Like in other countries, the Italian Cooperation will also examine the possibility of a EU joint programming, in order to improve and make more effective the division of labor among the EU partners in the country.

3. Other actors of the Italian Cooperation System in the country (NGOs, universities, local authorities, private sector) and strategies for their involvement.

Territorial cooperation is a hallmark of the Italian presence in Burkina Faso and there are various decentralized cooperation actors that play a major role in the country such as the Regions of Tuscany and Piedmont, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, ANCI (Association  of the Italian Municipalities) and UPI (Association of the Italian Provinces). In Burkina Faso there is also a deep-rooted presence of Italian NGOs, in particular FOCSIV (with 14 associated NGOs), CIAI, Mani Tese, Reach Italia, GVC, LVIA / CISV and Oxfam. The various actors of the Italian Cooperation take part to the programming process of the Italian strategy in Burkina, helping to identify priority areas, cross-cutting issues (such as child protection and environmental sustainability) and suggesting appropriate partnerships with international organizations. During various operational meetings held by the different actors in the field of development cooperation, Italy has begun a process of “mapping” of all Italian operators present in the country.The fruitful and useful experience of the Burkina Faso Roundtable, held in Rome on 18th December 2012 testifies the strengthening of the dialogue among Italian institutions and actors present in Burkina Faso, aimed at consolidating our presence and sharing and negotiating the goals of the Triennial Program with the authorities of Burkina Faso. This inclusive partnership is the distinctive and principal element by which the action of the Italian Cooperation will further be consolidated in the next three years 2013-15.

4. General goals of Italian Cooperation in the country, counterpart sharing and consistency with international guidelines on aid effectiveness.

The overall goal of the Italian three-year program is to contribute to the Strategie de croissance accélérée et de développement durable (SCADD) 2011-2015 presented by the Government of Burkina Faso in March 2010, based on four pillars: accelerated growth of the rural sector (and food security), development of human capital (including the promotion of social protection), good governance, cross-cutting themes (young people, disability). The Italian strategy – in line with what was accomplished in the past, both on a bilateral level and through the various actors of Italian civil society – will favour a systemic approach aimed at achieving the specific goals included within the SCADD through the diversification of rural incomes and intensification of agricultural production by identifying alternative crops and exploring the touristic potential. The Italian strategy aimed also at improving multifunctionality, by favouring the capitalization of agricultural enterprises through the provision of financial services, the strengthening of the planning capacity of the peripheral administrative units and improvement of sanitary conditions of local populations. This strategy responds to the findings and determinations of the already existing dialogue with key actors of the Italian civil society in Burkina Faso, as well as to the political guidelines mentioned above. Activities of the Italian Development Cooperation will be carried out according to the provisions of the Italian Law 49/1987. In 2013 Italy allocated multilateral contributions of about €2 million and bilateral contributions (including those in agreement with Italian regions, local authorities and universities) for around €3.4 million. To these figures shall be added the contributions granted for projects managed by Italian.

5. Priority development sectors and expected results

Italian Development Cooperation has traditionally intervened in health care, rural development and emergency/relief initiatives. Among the most significant initiatives we can mention the €500,000 contribution granted to WFP in March 2010, aimed at countering the acute malnutrition recorded among children of Burkina Faso; and the provision of humanitarian goods for an amount of €124,500, to cope with the floods that hit the country in September 2009. Ouagadougou is the seat of the Secretariat of CILSS (Comité Inter-Etats pour la Lutte contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel), responsible for an important regional program called Fight to Desertification for Poverty Reduction (operating in three other countries in the area), for which Italy contributed approximately €25 million. In recent years, Italian Development Cooperation has played the role of leader in the field of combating desertification, financing interventions carried out by UNOPS and the CILSS. On the bilateral channel, Italy supports the implementation of the National Plan for Health Development through one initiative in the field of fight against malaria (phase II, for approximately € 2.2 million). The objective is to strengthen the Medical Centre founded by the Italian Development Cooperation since 2003 for a value of less than € 2 million. Other decentralized cooperation intervention in collaboration with local authorities (Province of Bolzano and the Piedmont Region), an initiative in the fight against malaria promoted by La Sapienza University and a project on food safety promoted by the Agronomic Institute for Overseas are undergoing review. Italy’s priority areas of intervention are health and rural development, together with administrative decentralization, microfinance, support to the civil registry, young entrepreneurs and women. The activities that will be identified within the three-year program of cooperation will be therefore synergistic with what is currently in progress. More resources will be earmarked for interventions in the fight against desertification, recovery and protection of land, collection and management of surface water for pastoral, agricultural and domestic use, support to civil society and creation of employment, increase in the supply chain systems of the internal market and ability to respond to exogenous shocks – both economic and climatic – , strengthening of local and regional ownership at government level, aligning Italian efforts with those of international partners and of the various actors of the Italian civil society.