SPECIAL FEATURE
Inflation (percent change)
e estimate f forecast
Emerging and developing economies Advanced economies World
AND THE OPEC FUND
Madagascar INTEGRATED GROWTH POLES PROJECT
12
10
Approved: December 2014 Completed: September 2020 Total project cost: US$16 million OPEC Fund financing: US$15 million
8
6
4
2
0
2020 2021
2022 2023e 2024f
2025f
2026f
Source: IMF
T he project supported the revitalization of areas with high growth potential in promising sectors such as agribusiness and tourism. It combined the rehabilitation of key infrastructure, the improvement of the business environment and activities to support the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurship and the strengthening of local governance. In urban areas, the project made it possible to modernize and extend the distribution network and make production more reliable. In the Ambanja district with more than 37,000 inhabitants, the project supported the energy transition from a thermal power plant to a hybrid system with solar PVs. The project also provided initial access to electricity to some 3,000 households in rural areas, with the numbers expected to rise to 10,000. The project led to an improvement of living and working conditions, access to information and telecommunications and improvements in public life thanks to access to electricity.
taking place. Amid the worsening effects of climate change, debt-level stress and progress stalling or reversal on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there are challenges ahead. At the same time, a shift in the geopolitical and economic landscape, as well as advances in technology, present opportunities that the OPEC Fund is striving to meet by mobilizing more funds to meet partner countries’ needs. The OPEC Fund’s Strategic Framework 2030 provides a robust approach to stimulate operations to deliver increased lending and support to address both challenges and opportunities. Limited progress towards the SDGs Global crises continue to imperil the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Poverty reduction, food security, health and employment efforts are all falling behind. The SDG financing gap in low- and middle-income countries increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and could reach
US$4.3 trillion per year by 2025. With constrained public funding there is a clear need to mobilize more private capital for SDG financing. In parallel, there is a greater focus on development effectiveness to ensure funding delivers results. Supporting partner countries to achieve the SDGs is critical for the OPEC Fund to achieve its mandate. Intensifying climate crisis As the impacts of climate change continue to worsen, financing demands remain unmet. At least US$4.4 trillion in annual finance flows are required to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Despite the seemingly dramatic scale of the funding gap, it represents less than 5 percent of global GDP. The
OPEC Fund is leading by example – taking credible climate action is crucial to nurture an ecosystem that drives climate investments where they are needed the most. The OPEC Fund is
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