The IAEA's Technical Assistance and Cooperation Committee (TACC) has recommended for approval to the IAEA Board of Governors the Agency’s Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme for 2016-2017 and the TC budget for 2016. The latter earmarks 74.3 million euros for new and ongoing core technical cooperation projects, and another 61.4 million euros for technical cooperation projects for which funding has not so far been identified – so called “footnote-a” projects.
There are a total of 648 new projects in the 2016-2017 TC programme. These have been developed at the request of the Member States, and cover a diverse range of areas, including nuclear safety and security, health and nutrition, food and agriculture, nuclear energy, energy planning and water resource management.
The TC programme is the main vehicle through which the IAEA delivers assistance to its Member States. The TACC meets in November every year to consider the coming annual or biennial programme.
The formulation of the 2016–2017 TC cycle took place over a two-year period, through an intensive process of consultation, feedback and review, said Dazhu Yang, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation. “Technical and quality reviews ensure that proposed projects are well-formulated, with clear and achievable outputs, outcomes and objectives that will have a sustainable impact.”
From MDGs to SDGs
For the TACC meeting’s information, a report on the contribution of the IAEA TC programme to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was presented. The issuance of this document comes at a timely moment, as the attention of the world focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and as the IAEA examines how best to support related Member States' development needs and priorities, Yang said.
“The past fifteen years have shown that much of our work to support socioeconomic development in Member States has contributed to the achievement of specific MDGs,” Yang said. He highlighted IAEA contributions to help countries eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, improve child nutrition, enhance diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases, manage water and soil resources and the marine environment.
The IAEA Board of Governors will table the TACC’s recommendations at its meeting due to start on Thursday, 26 November 2015.
