High Level Visit
Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, an avid supporter of microloans, discussed the future of microfinance with experts at KfW's Berlin Branch.
Clean Water for South Caucasus
Serious inadequacies in drinking water supply and waste and wastewater management plague the South Caucasus - a legacy from the Soviet era. Another cause is poor engineering and supervision in the former CIS countries. At a conference held in the Georgian city of Batumi on the Black Sea, more than 100 experts discussed how to improve this situation. KfW is helping the city to improve its water quality and dispose of solid waste in an environmentally sound manner.
New Schools in the Middle East
Learning conditions for students in the Gaza Strip are set to improve. KfW Entwicklungsbank is therefore supporting the school construction programme of the United Nations relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on behalf of the German government. An agreement for three million euros has now been signed for the construction of two additional schools. Another 4,500 school places will be created with Germany's support.
Climate Change in Latin America
KfW Entwicklungsbank is helping to minimise the impacts of climate change on Latin America. In order to reach this goal, KfW has signed an agreement with the Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and granted a development loan of 195 million US dollars.
Reducing Poverty Through Employment
Those who create jobs that are decent and fairly paid help contribute to fighting poverty and reducing social inequality. Sustainable promotion of employment is an important basis for the development of a country - this was one of the outcomes from the international conference titled "Employment and Development- What do we know and what can we do?", which KfW Entwicklungsbank hosted in Berlin with the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA, Bonn). Numerous renowned experts participated, including the top economist from Harvard Dani Rodrik.
Debate on Global Sustainability
Development assistance efforts to promote economic growth, environmental protection and social progress must be more closely intertwined to achieve sustainable development. This core proposition of the new report of the "High-Level Forum on Global Sustainability" was debated by experts at KfW in Berlin.
Funds for Small Businesswomen
KfW Entwicklungsbank is supporting the newly created WWB Isis Fund with six million US dollars. The fund promotes micro and small enterprises managed by women. The access to financial services, knowledge and markets will strengthen the participation of low-income women in the economy.
Controlling Tropical Diseases
Thousands of people in developing and transition countries die of tropical diseases each year. Yet research is still inadequate to determine how African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and 15 other diseases can be effectively controlled. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, KfW is supporting so-called product development partnerships, for example to develop a vaccine against malaria.
