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Earth Day – Tristan Azbej: Hungary Helps Program supports fight against climate change in Africa
The Hungary Helps Program pays special attention to programs that mitigate the negative effects of climate change. It supports the development of renewable energies, promotes access to water, and supports initiatives such as the Pan-African Great Green Wall Program.
Several recent projects of the Hungary Helps program aim to enable communities living in desertified areas to adopt sustainable agricultural practices.
Tristan Azbej, State Secretary for Assisting Persecuted Christians and implementing the Hungary Helps Program, said on Thursday that in sub-Saharan Africa, the adverse effects of climate change are shrinking the biosphere and depleting natural resources. By developing sustainable agriculture, the project aims to slow down the latter process as well.
The project is part of the so-called Great Green Wall program, which is helping more than 250 million people in desert areas in Africa, he said.
The program was created in collaboration with 20 countries to plant drought-tolerant vegetation in Africa and put agriculture on a sustainable path.
“We find that one of the causes of human suffering and the emergence of humanitarian crises is environmental degradation and climate change. When we assess the humanitarian situation in different crisis areas, we try to understand what sustainability and environmental reasons are behind the hardships that communities face,” the state secretary said.
The Hungary Helps Program also supports research on how humanitarian aid can be used to reduce local pollution in certain crisis areas in developing countries.
