Togo

GIZ local staff

National employees: 261
International employees: 27
Development workers: 7

_{(as at: 31.12.2023)}  

Germany resumed cooperation with Togo in 2012, having suspended development cooperation with the country in the 1990s. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH also resumed its work in 2013 and opened a country office in the capital, Lomé. It is also represented at five additional locations in Togo.

The West African country has initiated wide-ranging reforms for its democratisation and decentralisation and set itself ambitious goals with its national development plan. It has also invested in education, health and infrastructure and improved the business climate for the private sector. Nonetheless, Togo faces a number of challenges. Around half the nine million people in Togo live in poverty.

More than 70 per cent of the population work in agriculture. This sector is, however, characterised by low productivity, a lack of machinery, limited market orientation and non-compliance with international standards. Climate change also poses additional challenges. Moreover, around a third of young people are unemployed or underemployed. Education and training courses that meet the growing demands of the private sector are also lacking.

Although progress has been made in decentralising public administration, state institutions are still unable to implement it efficiently due to a lack of funding and personnel.

Maternal and child mortality in Togo is high compared to other West African countries. More health care facilities and staff are needed.

GIZ operates in Togo on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in line with the development goals of the Togolese Government, with a focus on the following priority areas:

• Agriculture, economic development, training and employment
• Good governance and decentralisation
• Health

In the agriculture sector, GIZ supports smallholders as well as export and processing companies by offering training courses on entrepreneurship and production methods. Another focus is the promotion of climate-intelligent irrigation, which improves production. To increase the competitiveness of the private sector, GIZ implements measures to promote investment, advance digitalisation and improve access to financing. To reduce youth unemployment, a vocational education and training system adapted specifically to Togo has been developed.

GIZ also supports decentralisation, good governance and public financial administration by advising state institutions on budget control. Working with municipal administrations, it supports them in participatory, municipal development planning.

It also supports sexual health and family planning services and works with the health care sector to ensure that Togo is better prepared for the impacts of climate change and pandemics.