UK to give £650m to fund projects in needy African nations

The United Kingdom will contribute £650 million to the African Development Fund (ADF towards high impact and low-cost finance projects in poor nations in Africa.

A statement from the UK High Commission in Nairobi said the funding will help deliver electricity for almost 20 million people, improve sanitation for over 30 million people and create over 2.3 million new jobs, improve healthcare and enhance food security across the continent.

The fund will also support small businesses to create jobs and facilitate transition to green energy as support to deal with the adverse impacts of climate change.

Similarly, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will Wednesday break ground on the Railway City regeneration project in Nairobi, a high-tech green development designed by British architects and supported by UK Export Finance.

Green urban environment

The Kings Cross London-style development, backed by £80 million of UK Export Finance, will regenerate Nairobi’s bustling central business district as a green urban environment of the future.

The foreign secretary, who is on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since ascending to the position in September, has pledged to build “mutually beneficial partnerships of the future”.

“We highly value working with our allies and friends across Africa. Such relationships benefit us all. The UK offers honest, reliable investment that does not load countries with debt, but instead unlocks huge potential for economic growth, while boosting global health and tackling climate change,” he said.

Mr Cleverly is also expected to announce a £3.8 million UK investment support to new reforestation projects in Kenya through the UK PACT programme.

The foreign secretary will then head to Ethiopia where he will meet government officials and see first-hand the devastating impacts of climate change, conflict and food insecurity as he strengthens UK’s ties with Addis Ababa.

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