- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is an office-level agency in the
federal administration of Switzerland , and a part of theFederal Department of Foreign Affairs . Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for overall coordination of Swissinternational development activities and cooperation withEastern Europe , as well ashumanitarian aid .As of 2008, the SDC is led by Director-General
Martin Dahinden . It has a staff of 536, no revenues and annual expenditures of CHF 1,433 million.Organisation and tasks
The
Swiss constitution states that Switzerland contributes to the alleviation of hardship and poverty in the world, to respect for human rights, and to the promotion of democracy and the peaceful coexistence of nations. The SDC is charged with implementing this mission. [This section has been adapted from citation|title=The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide 2008|pages=51|url=http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/02070/index.html?lang=en. The text of that publication is in the public domain in Switzerland. All figures are as of 2008, unless otherwise noted.]The SDC’s activities are divided into three areas:
* In the context of bilateral and multilateral
development cooperation , the SDC promotes economic and nationalself-sufficiency , works to improve conditions of production, assists in dealing with environmental problems and helps to ensure better access to education and healthcare for the poor.* The mission of the Confederation’s agency for
humanitarian aid is to save lives and alleviate suffering. Duringarmed conflict s and followingnatural disaster s, it provides help through theSwiss Humanitarian Aid Unit and supports humanitarian partner organisations such as theRed Cross .* Cooperation with Eastern Europe assists the countries of
Eastern Europe and theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to make the transition todemocracy and themarket economy .Swiss bilateral development assistance is as of 2008 focused on 17 priority countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cooperation with Eastern Europe centres on ten countries in South-Eastern Europe and the CIS. At the multilateral level, the SDC works with UN agencies, the
World Bank and regionaldevelopment bank s.The SDC’s specialist units are grouped in the Thematic and Technical Resources Department. They focus mainly on
conflict prevention ,good governance ,social development , employment and income,natural resources and the environment.External links
* SDC website: [http://www.deza.ch/ www.deza.ch]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.