The delegation, led by Mrs. Lara Bremner, Head of the Program, was in Abidjan as part of its engagement with key Pan-African and regional partners, including the African Development Bank’s Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF). Mrs. Eve Sandra Beremwoudougou, First Secretary and Senior International Assistance Officer and GAC's representative on the ACCF’s Oversight Committee, accompanied her.

Global Affairs Canada, a Canadian government Department, joined the ACCF in March 2020 as a donor with a contribution of 7 million Canadian Dollars to support the Fund’s work to develop a gender transformative climate change workstream focused on women and girls’ empowerment for climate resilience.

Welcoming the officials, Nyong highlighted how the bank is mainstreaming climate change into all its investments. He said the ACCF, which has benefitted from Canada’s contributions, is focused on supporting entities such as civil society organizations, non-government organizations, and small businesses, which are often left out of the bank’s main financing, to access climate finance.

“The ACCF is not only providing funds for climate action but also helping to strengthen the capacities of the institutions it engages,” he said, adding that the GAC’s contributions have strengthened the bank’s work in mainstreaming gender into its climate change projects.

In her remarks, Bremner commended the Africa Climate Change Fund and advised on how it could expand its geographic reach and further its engagements with the private sector. She added the need to further share the results of the projects via social media and other platforms. She offered Canada’s support to disseminating the results that the ACCF is delivering.

Ms. Rita Effah, Coordinator of the Africa Climate Change Fund, briefed Bremner on the Fund’s Third Call for Proposal (CFP3) and how the projects selected will address gender inequality across the host countries. The projects cover key sectors such as agriculture, forestry, energy, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

“These projects are expected to contribute to addressing the root causes of gender inequality and to strengthen the resilience of African communities to the impacts of climate change,” Effah stated.

The Manager of the Bank’s Climate Change and Green Growth Division, Dr. Al Hamndou Dorsouma, attended the meeting.