ACORD ERITREA PROGRAMME PHASED OUT
In 2007, ACORD phased out its operations in Eritrea and handed over its village banking micro finance scheme to national actors following instructions from the Eritrean Government. The scheme had 65,000 clients in three provinces and a capital of over 4.5 million Euros. As a result of community capacity development initiatives over the last 15 years, community ownership over the scheme and its implementation was well established and should therefore be able to continue serving the communities despite the fact that the phasing out and withdrawal of ACORD had to be advanced.
Before this, ACORD had operated continuously in Eritrea since independence in 1993. Of the three ACORD intervention zones in Eritrea, Anseba Zoba was one of the poorest in the country and hardest hit by the successive droughts. Debub Zone had suffered directly from the war and its impact and Central Zone had the highest inequality of wealth in Eritrea.
ACORD's programme anchored upon a vision of making Eritrea an independent, united and developed Eritrean society, where all citizens helped each other to enjoy equal rights and fulfill their responsibilities.
