Ecobank Group and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are expanding a partnership to include South Sudan after collaborating since 2011 on capacity-building programmes for Global Fund implementers in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
Building on this successful experience, the two parties announced in Juba that they have concluded a three-to five-year agreement worth US$3 million to formalise Ecobank's support for the Global Fund's work and programmes in a number of countries in Africa, including South Sudan.
The Global Fund programme in South Sudan is being implemented through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Population Services International (PSI).
In South Sudan, the Global Fund/Ecobank partnership seeks to strengthen the financial management capabilities of Global Fund 'Sub-Recipients' and 'Sub-Sub-Recipients' through the provision of technical assistance and capacity building expertise and services. Assessments were carried out for three national programme Sub-Recipients under existing grants, namely the Ministry of Health/HIV Programme, the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme, and the National Malaria Control Programme.
Through a partnership with Accounting for International Development (AfID), of the United Kingdom, Ecobank South Sudan has used the information and analysis provided by the Sub-Recipients and the Global Fund to design and implement a project plan to provide financial management capacity building for the national entities mentioned above. This will be done through Ecobank's own training and through placement of AfID volunteer accountants. The capacity building programme is expected to take about 12 weeks.
In his remarks at the launch of the programme in Juba, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ecobank South Sudan, Mr. Simon Akuei, said: "The programme will go along way in ensuring the good use of public resources. We also expect it to improve the health of the communities who will benefit from it. One cannot emphasise enough the value of leveraging on partnerships to enhance delivery of health services to the public."
He said the partnership is one way through which Ecobank gives back to the public through its corporate social responsibility programme.
Marion Gleixner, a Senior Fund Portfolio Manager at the Global Fund, said the partnership between Ecobank and the Global Fund was strategic and innovative and would result in ncreased program effectiveness and more saved lives. "This partnership springs from fruitful collaboration between the Global Fund, Ecobank, the UNDP and implementing entities, who have worked closely on developing projects that will enhance financial management capabili ties of the three national programme Sub Recipients in South Sudan."
About the Global Fund
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 140 countries. As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases, the Global Fund is accelerating the end of AIDS, TB and malaria as epidemics.
About Ecobank Group
Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, Ecoba nk Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is the parent company of the leading independent pan-African banking group, Ecobank. It currently has a presence in 36 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa n Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Group is also represented in France through its affiliate EBI SA in Paris. ETI also has representative offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, London, UK and Beijing, China. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra, and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)–the BRVM.
The Group has more than 600,000 local and international institutional and individual shareholders. The Group employs nearly 19,200 people from 40 different countries in over 1,250 branches and offices.
Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals.
Additional information may be found at www.ecobank.com.
Ecobank South Sudan is situated at Koita complex on Ministries Road and offers a range of financial services that span across Personal Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking and Treasury Solutions.
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