European Commission Directorate General for Inte : Namibia

Located on the western shores of Southern Africa and largely made of deserts, Namibia is one of the less densily populated countries in the world (2.2 M inhabitants, 2.7 inhab/km²). Independent since 1990, it enjoys peace and a stable political situation. Namibia became an upper middle income country in 2009 with an economy based on sound macro-economic conditions with exports based on mining (mostly uranium and diamonds), fisheries, tourism and agricultural products (grapes, beef and mutton meat). Agriculture provides livelihoods for the majority of the population.

However, Namibia's income distribution is among the most unequal in the world. And despite undeniable progress towards the achievement of the MDGs (notably access to water and education enrolment), the country still faces many challenges related to widespread poverty, severe income inequality and high unemployment. Furthermore the HIV/AIDS epidemic and high vulnerability to climate change act as further breaks on the country's development.

In July, the EU adopted the Annual Action Plan (AAP) for Namibia which includes an Action Fiche detailing the modalities of aid implementation. Under the 11th European Development Fund (2014-20), the National Indicative Programme 2014-20 for Namibia has been allocated a global allocation of €68 million. In line with the Agenda for Change's emphasis on concentration of funding for greater impact, bilateral cooperation between the EU and Malawi in the years 2014-2020 will focus on 2 sectors, namely Education and Skills, and Agriculture.

The Country Strategy Paper for Namibia (2008-2013) presents the strategic framework for the cooperation of the European Commission (EC) with Namibia under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The response strategy chosen by the EC is to unlock the economic development potential and reduce poverty in a sustainable and long-term manner in the rural areas.

Besides providing basic infrastructure such as water supply and sanitation, a Communal Land Development Programme is being developed which aims to integrate farmers and livestock producers in the communal areas of Namibia in the economy by securing their land rights, strengthening regional planning, supporting their infrastructural investments and by providing mentorship to run their farms with a commercial mindset. Furthermore support is being provided for the development of a National Rural Development Strategy.

The second priority lies with education and human resources development with the objective to improve the quality and efficiency of the education system while ensuring equality of educational opportunities. Focus is on pre-primary and primary levels with emphasis on reducing access and quality school inequities and inefficiencies. Technical assistance is provided to prompt systemic changes in terms of planning, budgeting and monitoring functions within the Ministry of Education. The budget support component is complemented with a pilot intervention in school governance and social accountability.

Governance features as a non focal sector which includes support to the Namibian Parliament and the National Assembly, Civil Society as well as to the Performance Management System (PMS) spearheaded by the Office of the Prime Minister and support to Public Finance Management through institutional capacity development. In the field of health, WHO is being supported to implement a programme on maternal health focusing on the achievement of MDG 4 and 5.

The multi-annual indicative programme for Namibia under the 10th EDF amounts to €104.9 million. Following the Mid-Term Review of CSP/NIP the indicative allocation of Namibia was increased by 20%. In addition the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) obtained an additional support for capacity development in the sanitation sector under the European Union's MDG initiative (€6 million), i.e. a total of €131.5 million.