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Switzerland's activities in the realm of cooperation with the South Asian countries are coordinated by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The SDC is responsible for multilateral cooperation and development cooperation as well as for Switzerland's humanitarian aid in the region.
The priorities of SDC's humanitarian aid in South Asia revolve around prevention, emergency aid, reconstruction and advocacy. These humanitarian actions and programs include medium and long-term considerations and work is coordinated with other instruments such as development cooperation and Livelihood programs. Reconstruction and rehabilitation is another prime area of focus for SDC. Activities in this area are ongoing in Sri Lanka (post-Tsunami), Pakistan (post-earthquake) and Afghanistan (post-conflict) and will continue for the next couple of years. Support and reintegration of internally displaced people and refugees is another important part of the agency's motto of humanitarian assistance in the region by offering legal assistance. Such projects are working with full force in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Swiss aid in Afghanistan The Swiss Cooperation Office in collaboration with the SDC is running and supervising a vast development and humanitarian programme with an annual turnover of up to 12 million Swiss francs (10 million USD) in Afghanistan. Over a couple of years, it has contributed to supporting refugees and returnees to settle down and through health services; alleviate the effects of a prolonged drought, water and sanitation, etc. in Afghanistan. SDC has designed a Medium Term Strategy for Afghanistan 2008-2011 with an aim to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and a secure environment, ensuring inclusion and equal access for all men and women to rights, goods and services through strengthening of public and private sectors. Some highlights of the programme for the year 2008 were: Drought and flood response: This programme was aimed to improve the food security of rural households in selected areas of Afghanistan affected by the drought and floods through provision of improved wheat seed and fertilizers for the autumn 2007 and spring 2008 planting seasons. Green Afghanistan Initiative - GAIN: Through its action programme, SDC made a contribution to reforestation in selected villages in Bamian province. Support in the water and sanitation sector: In cooperation with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development MRRD as well as selected NGOs, SDC supported a water and sanitation programme in two districts of Samangan and Takhar provinces, thus providing the population with clean drinking water. In the area of Governance and Protection, SDC supports new initiatives such as the Civil Service Leadership Development Program (CSLD) and Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Program, which aims at building the capacities of provincial and district administrations. Swiss aid in Bangladesh Bangladesh is a priority country for the Swiss Development Cooperation. The Swiss Government's overall annual contributions were around CHF 20 million in 2008, with SDC's bilateral development cooperation budget amounting to CHF 15 million in fiscal year 2008-2009. The agency also works for several other areas notably in population control, food security, child mortality, malnutrition and access to education. SDC Provides Grant to ICDDRB to respond to Diarrhea Outbreak: The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation provided 68 Lac Taka (US$ 100,000) grant to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, (ICDDRB) Bangladesh for the current fiscal year to respond to the emergency posed by the pre-monsoon dry season diarrhea outbreak in Bangladesh. SDC's financial support will cover additional resources required in terms of manpower, medical and hospital supplies. Empowering women SDC initiated the Grassroots Women's Leadership project to ensure the participation of women in local decision making process and local development. It provides training to the rural women on leadership and negotiation skills, increases their knowledge and awareness on laws and rights and facilitates their linkage and participation in local development activities. A total amount of 37 million Taka (0.68 million Swiss Franc) has been allocated for the phase from 01 July 2007 to June 2010. Swiss aid in India The Swiss agency for Development and Cooperation works in India with a central focus on poverty reduction. SDC's programmes in India focus on three productivity enhancing themes: retention and sustainable use of water, rural energy and housing, rural finance and employment creation. Under the Partnership Programme, the areas of cooperation identified are: Energy and climate; governance; knowledge management and cooperation etc. Some features of SDC work in India are: Government of Switzerland has always partnered to provide for measures to strengthen capacity building efforts in rescue and relief in India. SDC has provided humanitarian assistance after the cyclone of 1999 in Orissa, the floods in 2000 in Bihar and West Bengal, the earthquake in Gujarat in 2001 and after the tsunami on the Southern coast of the country in 2004. The SDC India programme has been extensively working to create options for disadvantaged sectors of the population to benefit from affordable and environmentally friendly technologies that make it possible to save energy, use renewable sources of energy, reduce pollution. Energy efficient and environmentally friendly technology packages for a number of small-scale industries such as glass, foundry, brick kilns and biomass based industries such as cardamom, silk have been established with SDC's assistance. SDC also works to promote efficient and equitable use of water in rural India. SDC's approaches in the area of water involves promoting the retention and conservation of water, tap resources which support community initiatives, build capacity of communities in sustainable management of natural resources etc. Swiss aid in Sri Lanka SDC has been active in Sri Lanka since 2003 in various post-conflict and post-tsunami relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes in the Northern, Eastern and Southern parts of the Island. The commitment to peace, international humanitarian law and to the international human rights laws, characterize the focus of Switzerland's engagement in Sri Lanka. Major engagements of SDC in Sri Lanka. Major engagements: Livelihood development in Jaffna: SDC supports vulnerable fisher and farmer families as well as IDPs to secure alternative income generating activities to battle harsh economic conditions in the Jaffna district of Sri Lanka. Tsunami rehabilitation projects: Switzerland has supported the construction of several schools in the Tsunami hit Matara district and Mirissa. These schools are now functional in the area and imparting education. Switzerland also contributed to the 'House Owner driven Reconstruction Project' implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka by funding the reconstruction of 3,341 completely destroyed houses and the rehabilitation of 7,288 partially damaged houses in Tsunami hit Matara and Trincomalee. Swiss aid in Pakistan The approximate annual budget of the humanitarian aid programmes in Pakistan is 14 million Swiss Francs for the current fiscal year. The Switzerland government has affectively worked for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the earthquake affected areas in the North of Pakistan. Until the end of 2005 the Swiss response to the earthquake amounted to USD 10 Mio. For reconstruction during the years 2006 - 2009 an additional amount close to USD 32 Mio is earmarked. SDC's humanitarian aid unit (SHA) is carrying out a comprehensive Private Housing and Public Infrastructure Reconstruction, Livelihood Restoration and Disaster Preparedness and Prevention. SDC runs two ERRA Housing Reconstruction Centres (HRC) in Balakot and Batagram while a total of eleven HRCs are operational throughout the earthquake-hit areas. An example of swiss humanitarian assistane in Pakistan is a pilot project implemented by Nestle Pakistan for rural poverty reduction through capacity enhancement and small entrepreneur development in livestock and dairy farming. The project is designed to contribute to improved economic opportunities, income generation, and food security in rural areas, particularly for rural based dairy men and women farmers by enhancing their skills, and providing for market access. Access to demand based financial services through linkages and improved knowledge on business skills of the men and women farmers is also part of the package. SDC, in collaboration with SAP-PK, South Asia Partnership-Pakistan entered into the second phase of SDGP, a PKR 154.1 million Programme in June. 2009. SDGP, Strengthening Democratic Governance in Pakistan, is implemented by a leading Pakistani NGO, SAP-PK; facilitating the peasants and workers (especially women and minorities) for playing an active role in enhancing democratic governance in Pakistan. Swiss aid in Nepal The present Swiss cooperation strategy for Nepal (2009-2012) focuses on the democratic state-building and to promote human security and socio-economic development in the country In Nepal, SDC humanitarian aid is focused on rehabilitation activities after natural disasters and emergencies related to conflict or human made crises. For example after the devastating floods of 2002, SDC supported the rehabilitation of bridges, road sections of the strategic road network, as well as the preventive construction of dikes in extremely vulnerable areas. Emergency support was provided to drought affected people as well as to the Bhutanese Refugees through World Food Programme in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The Good Governance Project (GGP) is another step in this direction. The project, supported by SDC since 1999, promotes good governance in the governmental organs. The project aims to raise people's awareness on governance in order to increase their capacity to ask for more accountability, transparency and participation of the government. The duration of this Good Governance Project is from 2009 to 2012. The allotted budget is CHF 12 Million. Swiss aid in Maldives Switzerland immediately recognised the independent state of The Maldives after it became independent in 1965. The diplomatic relations were established in 1981 between the two countries. The Maldives are covered by the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka. The relations between Switzerland and Maldives are not very intensive. Bilateral contacts are confined to occasional meetings at the international level. By contrast, tourism is very important. Tens of thousands of Swiss nationals spend their holidays in the Maldives every year, and numerous Swiss travel agencies are represented in the capital Malé.
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