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Swiss agency fights poverty for 50 years

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is celebrating its 50th anniversary of helping people in need worldwide.

At a media conference in Bern on Wednesday, SDC Director Martin Dahinden praised parliament’s recent decision to increase official development aid to 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2011.

“Thanks to the additional funding the SDC will be able to make an even more effective contribution to the solution of local and global problems,” Dahinden said.

In addition to multilateral projects, both climate protection and clean drinking water are priorities for the agency. According to the SDC, these areas are key considering the increasing scarcity of resources.  

To celebrate its golden anniversary, the SDC will stage a series of events including debates, travelling exhibitions and films.

The exhibition “The other side of the world – a history of humanitarian Switzerland”, opens on March 10 at the Politforum in Bern and will move on to other Swiss towns over the course of the year.

The audio-visual show depicts humanitarian aid in the form of an interactive documentary film.

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