World Council, CUNA continue push for increased CDP funding
$17 million requested in letters sent to U.S. House and Senate Committees
MADISON, WI (October 17, 2019) — World Council of Credit Unions and Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Wednesday called on House and Senate appropriators to increase funding for the USAID’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) to $17 million, up from the previous year’s $12 million.
The CDP is a is a global initiative that focuses on building capacity of cooperative businesses and cooperative systems for self-reliance, local ownership and sustainability.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill in September providing $17 million, while the House-passed bill provides $14.5 million.
World Council President and CEO Brian Branch signed on to two letters with CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle requesting the higher amount passed in the Senate version.
“As the House and Senate move to reconcile these two bills, we respectfully urge you to advocate for the Senate-passed position of funding for this critically important program at $17 million for fiscal year 2020,” the letters read. “With their specialized expertise, CDP’s implementing partners have advanced cooperative businesses and systems in more than 18 countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Activities are targeted to strengthen cooperative businesses in several ways including improved governance, capitalization, gender empowerment, youth engagement, financial management, market performance and advocacy.”
The organizations note the program also prioritizes collaboration among partners through working groups, cooperative research, learning and dissemination of cooperative development resources.
During the life of the program, activities have supported more than 500 cooperatives and credit unions with a combined savings of $495 million.
Other achievements include:
- Providing health insurance and services to more than 42,000 people in Uganda;
- Leveraging more than $95 million of investments for cattle cooperatives in South Africa;
- Increasing member equity among cacao cooperatives in Ecuador, Peru, and the Dominican Republic by more than $4 million; and
- Reforming cooperative law and regulation in Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
World Council’s Technology and Innovation for Financial Inclusion (TIFI) is a CDP-funded project being implemented in Kenya and Burkina Faso that runs through August 2023.
About World Council of Credit Unions
World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development platform for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 87,914 credit unions in 118 countries serve 393 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
