Swiss Aid to North Africa

Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the organization’s chief Martin Dahinden said that humanitarian aid must be delivered to North Africa immediately and in the short-term; however, it needed to be in the name of cooperation and development.

Currently, 10 Swiss experts are present on the Libyan border with Egypt and Tunisia supplying 3,000 blankets and 200 tents. The organization has also provided about $1.61 million for humanitarian work in the North Africa region.

The SDC prioritizes certain groups for its “special programs,” but at this time, no Arab country is on the list (excluding Gaza and the West Bank). In 2009, the Swiss government decided to reduce the number of priority countries from 17 to 12 dropping its long-term countries like India, Peru, and North Korea. However, North African countries could be added to its list given the importance of the region to Europe. The SDC will also allocate funds for water management and alternative energy.

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