IFAD supports ongoing projects and programmes in 18 of the 35 low- and middle-income countries and territories in the Near East and North Africa (NEN), Central and Eastern Europe (CEN), and Central Asia. Across these sub-regions, IFAD works to reduce poverty and boost food security through loans and grants for sustainable agricultural and rural development initiatives.
The population of all the countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) sub-region is about 442 million, of whom 41 per cent live in rural areas. In countries and territories for which data are available, approximately 4 per cent live on less than US$1.25 a day.
Given the enormous challenges facing rural areas and the agricultural sector in NENA, IFAD’s strategic interventions there increasingly focus on national development priorities.
IFAD ongoing projects and programmes in NEN, CEN and Central Asia
Recent publications
- Islamic microfinance: Unlocking new potential to fight rural poverty
- A time of transition: Agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in the Near East and North Africa
- Investing in the future: Agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in Europe and Central Asia
- Portfolio Performance Review: Annual review 2011 - 2012
Key resources
- Addressing climate change in Near East, North Africa and Europe
- Seeds of innovation
- E-newsletter: Rural Echoes in Near East and North Africa
Hassan is university graduate who, like many young people in Egypt, was having trouble finding a job.