By Daniel Itai.
(News of The South) – The World Bank will soon roll out funds to assist Zambia in fighting climate change.
The World Bank says it will soon release US$100 million for the implementation of a climate resilience project that will uplift over one million people in three provinces in the northern part of Zambia.
World Bank Zambia country manager Sahr Kpundeh said the Breton Wood financial institution will give Zambia the funds to implement a five year Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD) project.
Dr. Kpundeh said the project was approved in May, 2019 and that unforeseen delays prevented it from taking off to help mitigate climate change effects.
He however, added that delays that were preventing the release of the funds have since been cleared to enable rolling out of the project in 16 districts located in Luapula, Muchinga and Northern provinces.
Dr. Kpundeh pointed out that the TRALARD project is an upgrade of the recently concluded 6 year US$25 million Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR).
The World Bank Country Manager heaped praises on the PPCR as being a global model for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Dr. Kpundeh noted that the World Bank is also keen to support Zambia’s climate action due to the success of the PPCR.
The TRALARD project is an upgrade of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience and is expected to deepen and diversify livelihoods, increase agriculture and agro-forestry productivity and help government mainstream climate change in economically vulnerable sectors.
On the other hand more than 500 000 people in Angola are facing food insecurity due to a severe drought which has hit several provinces.
Ermelinda Kaliengue, the head of the food security office of the Angolan Ministry of Agricultural and Forests said,
“What is needed is to establish policies and programs, not only to tackle the crisis but also to prevent the situation from recurring.”
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