Working together to fight poverty in rural areas

In 1984, BSF and IFAD formed a partnership to pursue a common goal: helping poor people in rural areas to overcome poverty. Since then, BSF and IFAD have designed and funded more than 30 joint projects. Better access to clean water and basic health care is a major focus, so children grow to become strong, healthy adults and treatable diseases no longer prove fatal. Projects help to boost yields through technology and to improve access to markets, making it possible for farmers to earn more from their harvests. Financial services help poor people to save money or take a loan to start a business. Opportunities for learning encourage farmers to also become fishers or herders, and women to acquire new skills that reduce drudgery and raise income. Empowering communities to develop and strengthen their own organizations enables them to advance their interests and to remove the obstacles preventing them from creating a better life. Increasingly, BSF and IFAD help communities to rebuild lives after the devastation caused by HIV/AIDs and armed conflict.

The main aim of the Belgian Survival Fund is to reduce poverty by helping people to help themselves, so they can earn more income and have enough nutritious food to live active, healthy lives.

Mutual interests, different strengths

BSF and IFAD each offer unique expertise . BSF increases the value of IFAD's investments by addressing the most basic needs of poor people: family nutrition and health. BSF grants, for instance, may pay to bring clean drinking water to a village or to set up a medical dispensary. Once people are strong and healthy, they are in a better position to benefit from projects funded by IFAD loans. These loans help people gain access to the assets they need to improve their lives and become more productive, from securing rights to land, water and other natural resources to gaining power to shape the decisions and policies that affect their lives. Combined, BSF grants and IFAD loans tackle the broad range of problems facing rural poor people, giving them the tools they need to improve their own lives. This collaboration also strengthens the contribution the partners make to reach the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

Learning from experience

BSF and IFAD design and fund projects that improve the lives of rural poor people. Many of the projects have had a dramatic impact on the well-being of rural poor people; some were less successful due to unforeseen problems or the fallout from natural and human disasters. But they have all made an essential contribution - providing lessons about the best ways to fight hunger and poverty.