Economy, technology and science

Cities across Africa are experiencing unstoppable growth. Through its PROECCO project, the SDC is supporting sustainable urban development in the Great Lakes region. The project centres on a technology for manufacturing modern bricks. In the Rwandan capital of Kigali alone, the project has saved 115,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions since it launched in 2013.

Since 2015, global progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which aims to eradicate world hunger under the banner 'zero hunger', has fallen behind schedule. This was the conclusion reached at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which began on 8 July in New York. Addressing global hunger and malnutrition requires not only sufficient food quantity but also ensuring food quality. As the quality of nutritional intake is not currently measured under SDG 2 of the 2030 Agenda, Switzerland, in collaboration with other countries and UN agencies, has proposed adding a new measurement indicator.

Honduras now exports six times more cocoa than it did a decade ago, and cocoa farmers are optimistic about the industry's future. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), as well as other international organisations, has supported this change through its PROCACAHO programme, a public-private initiative tackling key issues in the cocoa value chain.