UNESCO boosts anti-doping in Africa

Anti-doping in Africa has been given a significant boost ahead of the 2011 All Africa Games thanks to the approval of UNESCO funding for 18 projects across the region in the last couple of years.

Funding was requested mostly for education and training projects, while Mali was granted support also for a survey into young athletes’ knowledge of doping, and Cameroon used some of their allocation to develop anti-doping legislation.

A regional anti-doping project for athlete outreach at the 2011 Indian Ocean Games was also approved.

The event in Seychelles from August 5-14 will receive a range of educational resources in local languages Creole, English and French.

WADA's Play True Quiz will also be provided to athletes and athlete support personnel attending the Games.

The following countries received UNESCO anti-doping funding: Cameroon (three projects), Cape Verde, Comoros, Eritrea, Mali (two projects), Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, Togo, Tunisia (two projects) and Uganda.

The UNESCO ‘Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport’ is a voluntary fund designed to assist countries perform their responsibilities under the ‘International Convention against Doping in Sport’, and is focused on the areas of education, policy and capacity development.

The All Africa Games takes place in Maputo, Mozambique from September 3-18.