Abdelmonem Fawzi
“Building Resilience in Nutrition on the African Continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development” This is the slogan of the heads of state summit which kicked off in Addis Ababa today. Tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout will remain the top priority for African governments all throughout this year.
After the Omicron variant’s discovery, however, Africans look to their leaders for a response. I believe that Africa’s challenges can only be solved through African leadership.
Most of these leaders have taken action to ensure that Africans will be considered in global recovery efforts, and that the continent will not be left behind by any means.
Nonetheless, we also face many challenges across the continent. Africa has become home to some of the world’s hunger hotspots, with two out of three people in the world impacted by food insecurity living on the continent. The continent has also faced environmental devastation that has resulted in displacement and increased poverty and hunger, and conflict that has impacted the safety and security of its peoples.
Africa is largely dependent on natural resources to achieve growth and development.
However, the continent continues to lack effective institutional capacity to manage these resources sustainably.
Prior to Covid-19, the continent had already experienced a slowdown in growth and poverty reduction, although with large differences between countries. The problem is that the current crisis can erase years of development gains.
However, we have gained significant experience in implementing the sustainable development agenda, albeit with mixed results towards achieving the sustainable development goals set.
What we really need is developing better disaster response mechanisms and genetically modified crops in relation to food security and technology transfer among others.
Nevertheless, we must admit that some efforts are being made to advance and bring the symbol, ‘The Africa We Want’ to fruition through the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD.
The evidence is what Ms. Diyana Gitera, the co-chair of the NEPAD Steering Committee and the AUDA-NEPAD and APRM advisor in the Office of the President of Rwanda, said during the opening of the 66th meeting of the NEPAD Steering Committee.
Health systems in Africa, Gitera said, were disrupted by Covid-19. “However, the economic impact of the pandemic saw a rebound by most countries in 2021, with international support through debt relief and other measures on the continent,” she said. She called for more action towards African countries’ economic recovery.
This action, Gitera said, has to be taken with support from institutions, such as NEPAD.
Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, reported that during 2021, AUDA-NEPAD technical teams delivered their results in the context of ‘adaption and anticipation’.
“It is against this backdrop that the Agency’s 2021 programmes adjusted to respond to the emerging needs and priorities resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges, including locust plagues and extreme weather conditions experienced on the continent,” Mayaki said.
Members of the Steering Committee were informed that since the beginning of the pandemic, AUDA-NEPAD pushed forward with speed and scale to tackle the immediate health crisis and socio-economic impact at the continental, regional, national and community levels, which led to a reprioritisation of strategic focus.
Strategic reprioritisation at the Agency therefore embraced multi-year programming with the intentional focus on transformational (medium to long term) results while addressing immediate needs.
In response to Africa’s emerging needs, AUDA-NEPAD’s strategic priorities for 2022 fall under the following three signature solutions: First, Health where the focus is on building capacities in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing sector and improving access to essential health care services.
Second, Economy where the focus is on growth and job creation through interventions aimed at enhancing infrastructure development, trade and markets and productivity-enhancing innovations. Third, Food systems where the focus is on increasing agricultural and food productivity to ensure food and nutrition security.
Members of the Steering Committee also expressed appreciation of the key role played by Dr Mayaki when he was at the helm of the Agency.
Dr Mayaki, whose tenure as CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, will end soon, made the following remarks:
“This being my last NEPAD Steering Committee meeting, I am very thankful for the support of its committed members. I deeply appreciate the quality of the teams that I have worked with. During the years spent in this agency, I have learned enormously in terms of increased personal knowledge, by going through the dynamics of the African development context. I particularly enjoyed the intellectual capacity of the organisation’s staff who are highly competent professionally. I wish my successor the utmost support from the team and best conditions for success.”
I believe that what we need on the ground from all the leaders of the continent is for them to join hands to enforce the African Union Anthem:
Let us all unite and celebrate together
The victories won for our liberation,
Let us dedicate ourselves to rise together,
To defend our liberty and unity,
O sons and daughters of Africa,
Flesh of the sun and flesh of the sky,
Let us make Africa the tree of life,
Let us all unite and sing together’
To uphold the bonds that frame our destiny,
Let us dedicate ourselves to fight together
For lasting peace and justice on earth
