ABIDJAN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have signed a cooperation program worth 75 million U.S. dollars aimed at turning demographic challenges into a driver of growth over the 2026-2030 period.
The agreement documents were signed on Thursday in Abidjan by Cote d'Ivoire's Minister of Planning and Development, Souleymane Diarrassouba, and UNFPA Resident Representative in Cote d'Ivoire, Saidou Kabore.
The cooperation program will focus on human capital development, social inclusion and resilience. It seeks to improve maternal health, strengthen family planning services, combat gender-based violence, and enhance the production and use of reliable demographic data.
Cote d'Ivoire currently records a population growth rate of 2.9 percent. Its population, estimated at nearly 30 million, is projected to reach 36.5 million by 2030.
"This demographic growth poses significant challenges in terms of access to basic services, education, reproductive health, employment and infrastructure," the minister said.
According to him, the implementation of this program is expected to help eliminate preventable maternal deaths, reduce unmet needs for family planning, and combat gender-based violence, including harmful practices.
During the 2021-2025 period, the cooperation program between Cote d'Ivoire and UNFPA mobilized 100.3 million dollars.
"These resources have led to significant economic and social progress, notably marked improvements in maternal health, family planning, the reduction of gender-based violence, the empowerment of youth and women, as well as in the production of statistics to guide decision-making," the minister said.
The new program is aligned with the country's priorities of the National Development Plan for the 2026-2030 period, adopted by the Ivorian government with a total budget of around 114.84 trillion CFA francs (about 204 billion dollars). Authorities expect that 70 percent of the financing come from the private sector and 30 percent from the public sector.
The 2026-2030 National Development Plan aims to structurally transform the economy and propel Cote d'Ivoire to upper-middle-income country status. ■
