The European Union (EU) and the British Council on Tuesday in Abuja formally launched a €13.5m (about N4.7bn) fund for selected Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country to strengthen their regulatory capability for sustainable national development.
Speaking at the launch, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ketil Karlsen, said this at official inauguration of the Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) programme.
Karlsen said that the funds were provided to enable the selected Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) in Nigeria to play their mandated roles in societal development.
The Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) is a EU designed programme in response to the identified need to invest in and engage with CSOs in Nigeria.
He said the ACT programme will support the strengthening of civil society institutional mechanisms, structures and processes to improve the internal, external and programmatic competence of selected CSOs, networks and coalitions.
According to him, the ACT programme is funded by the EU under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and it is being implemented by the British Council.
The ambassador said that the programme would also emphasize on building the capacity of right-holders to engage with duty bearers for sustainable development in the country.
Karlsen, who said that ACT would work to mainstream gender equality in line with both the EU Gender Action Plan (2006) and Nigeria’s National Gender Policy (2006), added that people living with disability will also be mainstreamed.
On his part, Programme Director, ACT, British Council, Bob Arnot, said the programme would enhance the credibility of CSOs as independent drivers of change so that they would be able to implement projects they undertake.
Also, National Programme Manager, EU ACT, Damilare Babalola, said that the programme would last for four years.
According to him, the fund would not go to the CSOs directly as it would operate as an intervention.
Babalola said that the EU has identified some tested CSOs that would mentor the organisations still developing to improve on what they do.
He said, “We are looking at the results coming from the grassroots level also strengthening the chain for sustainable development.”
The ACT programme implementation strategy was developed during its inception phase between August 2018 and December 2018, commencing implementation in June 2019 through to April 2023.
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