EU agrees US $351 million aid package

The European Union (EU) has agreed to grant Senegal 307 million (US$351 million)over a five-year period to fund development programmes and debt relief, the European Commission office in Dakar said in a statement. Just over one third of the total - 104 million euros ($120 million) - has been earmarked for emergency support measures, such as import financing in the event of a shortfall in earnings from export commodities such as phosphates and fish products and debt relief. The other main component of the aid package is 70 million euros ($80 million) to improve the trunk road network that links Senegal to neighbouring countries. Most of the rest of the money will be spent on health and education programmes. The education component of the aid programme will focus on increasing literacy among women among Senegal's 10 million population. According to the UN only 27 percent of Senegalese women over the age of 15 can read and write, compared to 47 percent of men. A further $40 million have been earmarked to improve governance in Senegal, which has been a beacon of democracy in Africa since independence from France in 1960. The aid agreement, which encompasses some initiatives that had been agreed earlier, was signed in Dakar on Tuesday.