Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, accepted the USD 1 million donation cheque. A fund established by India, Brazil, and South Africa that funds initiatives to reduce hunger and poverty has received a $1 million contribution from India.

Here on Monday, UNOSSC Director Dima Al-Khatib received a cheque for USD one million from India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, as a contribution to the India, Brazil, and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation Fund (IBSA Fund).

Speaking at the event, Ms. Kamboj stated that “development of the people, by the people, and for the people” was the main goal of India’s G20 Presidency. As a result, she declared, “India is committed to supporting the IBSA Fund as we believe that the Fund has strengthened the spirit of South-South cooperation and made a positive impact on the lives of millions across the Global South.”

According to a press release from India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, the IBSA nations—South Africa, Brazil, and India—each donate one million dollars a year to the Fund as a means of fostering partnership and providing support for Southern-led, demand-driven, transformative projects in developing nations.

Over the IBSA Fund’s inception in 2004 and the start of operations in 2006, India has contributed more than USD 18 million in total. The IBSA Fund’s secretariat and fund manager are UNOSSC.

The IBSA Fund provides funding for initiatives that embody tangible manifestations of unity. According to the press release, their goals include increasing access to safe drinking water, addressing HIV/AIDS, and promoting food security—all of which will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

To date, the IBSA Fund has granted USD 50.6 million to support 45 projects in 37 global southern countries. According to the statement, the IBSA Fund has already approved three projects this year: “Investment in Agri-business development in Mubadrti, Palestine,” “Empowering Women and Youth to Drive Sustainable Agriculture,” and “Rural Electrification using Micro-grids,” in Southern Belize.

According to UNOSSC, the Fund’s Board of Directors convened here towards the end of the previous month and authorised the three proposals for Belize, Palestine, and South Sudan, totaling USD $3 million in fresh funding. The project’s design in Mali, scheduled to start in 2024, was also approved.

The project in Belize will improve marginalised communities’ access to renewable energy in the Toledo district. The poverty rate in this district is the highest in the nation. According to a statement from the UN agency, the project intends to supply solar equipment to 166 households, a school, and a primary health centre.

The Central Equatorial State’s nutrition, food security, and standard of living will all be enhanced by the project in South Sudan, which seeks to raise fish and vegetable production as well as distribution markets. There will be support for eight vegetable production groups with 48 heads of household and four fisheries groups with 30 heads of household.

The project in Palestine seeks to establish long-term employment opportunities in the agricultural industry and its supply chain for women, young people, and recent graduates. This will entail both food processing and the production of agricultural commodities targeted at the market.

Through extensive training programmes on farming techniques, crop management, harvesting methods, post-harvest handling, processing and packaging, marketing, and business management, about 70 farmers, unemployed youth, and engineers will increase agricultural productivity in Palestine through the proposed investments in agri-business.

The Board gave its approval to the comprehensive plan for a project in Mali called Women’s Empowerment and Climate Change Resilient Community Farms in the Baguinéda Irrigated Zone, which is scheduled to start in 2024.

Through the renovation of two agribusiness centres, the distribution of improved seeds, and the capacity building of over 7,000 women producers, this project seeks to increase the resilience of youth and women producers against the negative effects of climate change. According to the UN agency, five market garden areas will have solar pumping systems installed, and four youth Economic Interest Groups will receive equipment.