Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme Partnership in Poverty Alleviation

The Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme (BSF.JP) was established in 1983 by the Parliament of Belgium to ensure the survival of persons threatened by acute hunger, malnutrition and underdevelopment.

The BSF.JP provides a framework for multisectoral interventions, with IFAD as the Lead Agency, WHO, UNICEF and UNDP as Participating Agencies, and Belgium as the sole donor.

Main Thrusts

• Improved household food security and nutritional status
• Institution-building and improved local governance
• Beneficiary ownership and management
• Empowerment

Target Group

Rural communities with little or no access to productive resources, technology and financial or social services:

• Small-scale farmers
• Pastoralists
• Woman-headed households
• The landless, squatters, migrants and other displaced persons

Geographical Coverage

Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, D. R. Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda.

First Phase

During the first phase (1983-1995), 13 projects were approved for a total of 2 247 million Belgian francs (approximately USD 63 million). Initial projects were developed in the Horn of Africa, an area particularly hard hit by war and drought and regularly threatened by famine.

Second Phase

The second phase (1996-2000) was approved in 1995 with a new emphasis on the prevention of conflict in response to post-war conditions, extending the BSF.JP target area beyond the Greater Horn of Africa to Africa's Great Lakes Region, the Central Sahel countries and Angola.

Strategy Development

A new strategy was developed to reinforce the impact of BSF.JP projects during the second phase. The main features of the new strategy are:

• Coupling of BSF.JP projects with IFAD agricultural and rural development loan projects
• Adoption of a process approach
• Improved inter-agency and NGO collaboration