The Agence Francaise de Dévelopment (AFD) Country Director, Xavier Muron, says the Agency spent over $2 billion to support the development of agricultural, water, Energy, Urban Transport, and rural road in Nigeria in the last 14 years.
Muron stated this at the final Art Exhibition of the CATCH UP II project in Abuja on Saturday.
“AFD opened in Nigeria 14 years ago and today they are recognized partners, financing projects in key sectors such as; Energy, Urban Transport, Agriculture, Water and Rural Roads.
“We have committed around two billion dollars in these 14 years and we have been supporting around 35 to 40 projects.
“Why we are here, when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we realized that we should invest more in human capital or human development,” he said.
CATCH UP projects are funded by AFD through Urunwa Art to organize the second and last Art exhibition that captured 30 children from vulnerable communities.
Urunwa Art is owned by Chidimma Urunwa and her team, who work on a collective art project focused on bringing out-of-school children back to school, and reintegrating them into the school system.
In addition, the project is part of the AFD METIS Initiative that seeks, through the mobilization of the arts and the use of emotions, to promote transformations that benefit societies.
Muron said the AFD had supported around 35 to 40 projects in the last 14 years.
He expressed his satisfaction with the CATCH UP projects as it was his first assignment in Nigeria and the first edition that gave him the opportunity to meet with young artists and discuss.
According to him, this is an amazing exhibition that features work done by you (children), and I understand that it was intentional to have the event on Children’s Day to celebrate children.
“Which means that, we must engage with civil society which is people like Urunwa, who want to add value to their country by carrying out inclusive activities to support the most vulnerable of the population?
“And, children are the most vulnerable, if not they will be used as agents of destruction if they don’t get involved in their childhood, which is why we trust people like you to get them involved.
“We also trust the government, civil society and involving people like Urunwa to make it faster and reach the most vulnerable in the country,” he said.
He added that AFD had decided to collaborate with Urunwa Art to reach children, which was in line with the agency’s projects.
