The World Bank has announced plans to invest over $5 billion over the next five years, seeking to restore degraded landscapes, improve agriculture productivity, and promote livelihoods in 11 African countries as they recover from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

These countries are Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

The money will fund interventions in agriculture, water, community development, food security, resilient infrastructure, landscape restoration, and renewable energy.

According to World Bank Group President David Malpass, the World Bank’s PROGREEN global fund dedicated to boosting countries’ efforts to address landscape degradation would add $14.5 million for projects in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.