Apex bank creates $33 million post-Ebola fund

Media reports reveal that the African Development Bank (AfDB) has created a $33 million post-Ebola Social Investment Fund, with a special emphasis on women and girls and also released report on impact of Ebola on women.

This information was shared by Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, at the office of the AfDB’s Special Envoy on Gender, in Dar Es Salaam during the launching of a report to mark the International Women’s Day.

According to Fraser-Moleketi, the Bank intended to help women to come out of the current disadvantaged situation and rebuild the financial foundation, particularly in rural areas, through the fund.

She said the 33 million dollar project was being carried out in collaboration with the governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, as well as the U.S. State Department.

“The fund is to support civil society organizations in the region in their efforts to reinvigorate economic empowerment and enhance the livelihoods of women,’’ she said.

The AfDB exec said during her visit to the three affected countries in August 2015 she met women and men working constantly to eradicate this disease.

“Countless lives were lost in this battle and the repercussions will be felt for years to come in terms of economic growth. For women, there was, and still is, a danger of reverting to the way things were before,’’ said Fraser-Moleketi.

She said this program was aimed at overcoming a key constraint on Africa’s development so the continent can get on the path to inclusive growth.