Priority areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Decades of almost uninterrupted civil have left the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving severely damaged. What was once a flourishing country must now be reconstructed. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and in cooperation with KfW Entwicklungsbank, GTZ is supporting the Congolese Government in three priority areas.

Biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources
GTZ is promoting and develops skills and resources needed to create a legal, political and institutional framework for environmental protection. Conservation of the tropical rainforest is promoted through support given to the management of selected nature reserves and by support for national eco-certification. A new component of the environmental sector is a project intended to encourage good governance and establish financial transparency in the commodities sector.                  

Urban and rural drinking water supply and waste water disposal
Important elements in the reconstruction of the country include the reform of the water sector and new formulation of the water policy, as well as the reorganising and strengthening of skills and capacities at the relevant ministries and institutions.

Strengthening the microfinance sector
From 2010, the Congolese Government will be given support to enhance the microfinance sector. Institutions and instruments in the finance sector will receive assistance, access to financial services for rural population will be enhanced, and the use of technological innovations in the financial sector encouraged.

GTZ also supports the development of the Congolese health system, with the focus on preventing HIV/AIDS and combating sexual violence towards women.

Development-oriented emergency and transitional aid projects take into account the special circumstances of a country in crisis. They secure the food supply and therefore the survival of people, especially in regions suffering the effects of war. But that is not their only objective. Measures for restoring infrastructure, community life and commerce also benefit reconstruction and so help to stabilise the peace process. Other project activities concentrate on the social and economic reintegration of former child soldiers. Together with support for cross-boundary water management and for improved financial transparency in the commodities sector, they contribute to successful long-term stabilising and peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Africa’s Great Lakes region.