EU emergency trust fund for Africa :2023 annual report

The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF for Africa) was set up to support the most vulnerable and marginalised people, including refugees, internally displaced people, migrants and members of host communities. Over the last 8 years, it has provided great momentum for a coordinated response by the European Union, its Member States and other donors to multiple challenges across the Sahel and Lake Chad, Horn of Africa and North of Africa regions. In 2023, the three regions of the EUTF for Africa were marked by political crisis - with regime changes in the Sahel region – and armed conflict, like in the case of Sudan where in April violence broke out between Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The effects of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, economic hardship aggravated by high inflation, and the increasingly devastating impact of climate change were all factors that contributed to deteriorating the livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations in Africa. In this context, and despite the winding down of many projects, the EUTF for Africa continued to demonstrate its capacity to support the most vulnerable and marginalised people across its four Strategic objectives: greater economic and employment opportunities; strengthening resilience of communities; improved migration management; and improved governance and conflict prevention. Thanks to the close cooperation with EU Member States and African partner countries, the EUTF for Africa continued to foster dialogue and coordination on migration and forced displacement with the aim to address their root causes and promote stability.