Netherlands support for Family Guidance Association

The Netherlands government signed a grant of 4.2 million euros (US $4.1 million) on Wednesday in support of the activities of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE), the Royal Netherlands Embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, has announced. With this amount, the Netherlands government will support the national programme of FGAE for the coming three years - from July 2002 to June 2005. The support of FGAE is part of the 24-million-euro ($23.2 million) annual budget of the Netherlands-Ethiopian Development Cooperation, said the Embassy. "Within the context of poverty reduction and sector-wide approaches, the two sides decided last year to concentrate development efforts on three sectors: health, education and food security," the embassy said. The embassy has in previous years supported FGAE in financing smaller projects for youth and reproductive health, but in recognition of the fact that FGAE has faced significant financial problems, the embassy, after consultations with the Federal Ministry of Health and the London-based International Planned Parenthood Federation, of which FGAE is a member, has decided to render this substantial support in the form of core funding. "For the last 50 years or so, FGAE remained a pioneer in the popularisation of reproductive health in Ethiopia, which, among other things, includes family planning and HIV/AIDS control, both being important factors in the national development of Ethiopia. The Netherlands's support will allow FGAE to enhance and further improve its care and preventive activities and modernise its internal organisation, thus making it more competent and capable to serve the Ethiopian population", said the embassy.