Through its international cooperation work, Switzerland is committed to ensuring that local populations in a number of countries have access to resources and services. SDC and SECO projects and programmes achieved a wide range of outcomes in 2016.
Selected results 2016
Latin America
In Peru, the water pipeline and customer cadastre in Paita and Talara was updated and modernised. In addition, the volumes of water produced and consumed were more systematically measured and analysed, and leaks were better identified and rectified. Customer communication was also improved. Thanks to these measures, waster losses were reduced by 19% in Paita and by 6% in Talara in 2015-2016. The volume of water billed to customers was also increased by 8% and 10% respectively during the same period.
Africa
In Chad, a West African country that is increasingly affected by violence and extremism, there is at least a glimmer of hope in the field of basic education: almost 200,000 children, nearly half of whom are girls, were able to attend one of the some 800 primary schools supported by the SDC in 2016. That is an increase of 180% compared with 2015. These efforts went some way to reducing the country’s illiteracy rate, although at over 70%, it is still one of the highest in the world.
Thanks to SDC measures in various regions of Tanzania aimed at training healthcare staff to strengthen advisory services for expectant mothers, some 1.4 million pregnant women received more comprehensive healthcare by the end of 2016. Maternal mortality in the regions concerned has been demonstrably falling since 2012.
Central Asia
In Tajikistan, over 13,000 people (72% women) have made use of the free legal services and services to victims of domestic violence available since 2013. For the first time, many poor people were able to claim benefits such as child allowances and pensions, enjoy rights such as property rights in divorce processes, and enrol their children in school.
