MADRID, 15 (EUROPA PRESS)
Spain will allocate 47 million euros to development aid in Mozambique under the new Country Association Framework (MAP) for the period 2021-2024 signed this Thursday and in which the geographical and sectoral priorities of the joint action of both governments are set in this matter.
The new MAP has been signed by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Manuel José Gonçalves, and comes to replace the previous one, agreed for the period 2014-2016 but on which work has continued.
By virtue of this agreement, the Spanish Cooperation will pay special attention to Cabo Delgado, the northern region of the country, the scene for four years of jihadist violence at the hands of a group that operates under the flag of the Islamic State and which has unleashed a serious humanitarian crisis.
Thus, the region will continue to be the main recipient of projects and financing, with 15 million of the total of 47, as indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. In addition, it will work in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane, in the south of the country.
On the other hand, 11 of the 47 million will come from the delegated cooperation of the EU. In this area, a project to fight corruption (executed by AECID and FIIAPP) as well as another to adapt to climate change are being carried out in the Metropolitan Area of Maputo within the framework of the initiative of the Covenant of Mayors in Africa Sub-Saharan (COMSSA).
In addition, the delegated cooperation of Andalusia and Catalonia has a strong presence in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Inhambane, respectively.
“Spanish Cooperation with Mozambique is rich, uses multiple instruments and unites the commitment of Spanish society to the country”, Cancela stressed during the meeting of the VIII Joint Hispanic-Mozambican Cooperation Commission.
For his part, Gonçalves stressed that the signing of the MAP “further strengthens the excellent relations that have existed between the two countries for more than four decades”, in reference to the fact that Spanish Cooperation has been working in the country since the decade of 80’s years.
All the actions of the Spanish Cooperation in the country will be conceived and implemented from the perspective of gender approaches and the defense of women’s rights, climate change, Human Rights, cultural diversity and will take into account the effects of the pandemic of the COVID-1, has pointed out Foreign.
THE HEALTH SECTOR, PRIORITY
Among the different priority sectors, the health sector stands out, since in Mozambique the specialized medical training program is being developed, which tries to alleviate the deficit of health professionals.
The star project in this area is the Manhiça Health Research Center (CISM), which aims to find solutions to the main communicable diseases that specifically affect Mozambique and developing countries in general. The CISM, which has been supported by AECID since its inception, is now 25 years old and has recently managed to create the first vaccine against malaria.