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The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) is a federal program that, since its establishment by Congress in 2001, has granted millions of dollars $47,750,971 through 2013 to about 800 projects of foreign governments seeking to preserve historic structures and institutions. Administered by the Cultural Heritage Center at the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, AFCP is little known to the American public. Grants are made on the basis of recommendations by U.S. ambassadors for purposes including “the restoration of ancient and historic buildings, assessment and conservation of rare manuscripts and museum collections, preservation and protection of important archaeological sites, and the documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques and indigenous languages.”
The adult literacy rate is of 60.7%, ranks 181
st out of 189 countries, according to the UN Human Development Index. About 66% of the population lives in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming under rain-fed conditions which are severely affected by the cyclical occurrence of droughts and floods, causing unbalanced food and nutritional income. A large part of the population, (62.9%) lives below income poverty line.
Further, the country has one of the lowest worldwide densities of health workers (0.4 physicians, 4.12 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people).
10,11 The distribution of health professionals across the country is not uniform, with more deficits in the north and central provinces, such as Nampula, Niassa, Cabo Delgado, and Zambeze.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, April 21, 2021 – Ahead of World Malaria Day, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has committed $3 million to continue the fight against malaria in Niger. In partnership with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the contribution aims to save the lives of more than 400,000 children and reach more than 2 million people with enhanced malaria prevention and treatment services.
“Around the world each year malaria strips thousands of children of their childhood,” said Sean Callahan, CRS’ president & CEO. “Providing this support for the Global Fund and the government of Niger will help us accelerate the end of malaria. Globally, we have already saved the lives of 11,000 children and with this, we will be on our way to saving so many more.”
Idriss Deby, who was on course for a sixth term as Chad’s president before he died from injuries sustained in battle, had carved out a reputation as the West’s stalwart ally in the Sahel – despite accusations of authoritarianism.
The 68-year-old son of a herder would have been one of the longest-serving leaders in the world, after provisional results showed him winning re-election this week.
But his shock death cut his 30-year political career short and will likely throw Chadian politics into disarray.
He died from injuries sustained while fighting rebels this weekend in the country’s restive north, the army said on Tuesday.