Transparency International awarded US$6.9 million grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Transparency International (TI) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a grant of US$6.9 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of its work to promote government transparency and accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The grant will support a three year program aiming to promote good governance that will result in greater access and improved delivery of key basic services in Sub-Saharan Africa: health, education and water.
Through this grant, TI will foster and support civil society in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia and make them leaders in developing strong and sustainable networks providing analysis and advocacy for improved integrity, transparency and accountability in basic service delivery.
“We are grateful for this grant which will not only allow Transparency International to show the devastating impact corruption has on poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa but also to empower local stakeholders in their efforts to strengthen direct accountability mechanisms,” said Rima Al-Azar, Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International. “Citizens will be able to demand transparent and accountable public financial management, reducing the diversion of funds by private interests and monitoring so that power entrusted to decision-makers is not abused,” added Al-Azar.
“Improved governance can contribute to ensuring that resources allocated to providing basic services to the poor actually achieve their intended impact,” said Charles Lyons, Director of Special Initiatives for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program. “This program will bolster local efforts aimed at making resource flows more transparent and service providers more accountable.”
The program – entitled “Transparency and Integrity in Service Delivery in Africa” – will run from 2008 to 2011, and will involve the development of analytical tools such as corruption “risk maps” to inform advocacy aimed at ensuring greater integrity, transparency and accountability, leading to improved services and better lives.
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About Transparency International
Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. Through more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, Germany, TI raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
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