Adesina calls for bold action to tackle Africa’s challenges

President of the African Development Bank,  Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has issued an urgent call for innovative, bold actions to tackle poverty and accelerate Africa’s development.

This, he said, stemmed from how the continent grapples with climate change, global financial turbulence, and rising food insecurity.

Addressing leaders of multilateral development banks (MDBs) at a meeting with the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, Adesina highlighted Africa’s critical need for enhanced partnerships and the strategic mobilisation of resources.

“We need bolder resolve, innovative and practical solutions, and stronger coordinated action at scale,” Adesina emphasised, urging development partners to strengthen their resolve to confront these crises impacting Africa’s growth trajectory and slowing progress towards achieving global development goals.

This was according to a Friday statement titled, “African Development Bank President calls for bold, innovative and practical solutions to tackle poverty in Africa,” obtained from the AfDB website.

During the ongoing annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, D.C., Adesina is leading the AfDB delegation, aiming to spotlight priorities essential for Africa’s future.

He outlined specific goals, including eliminating hunger, enhancing food security, scaling up infrastructure to drive agricultural and industrial transformation, and securing electricity access for 300 million people by 2030 through the “Mission 300” initiative.

This initiative, a joint effort with the World Bank, will be a focal point at the upcoming Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania in January 2025.

“Our strength lies in consolidating our collaboration, mobilising resources at speed and scale, and deploying them where they are needed most,” Adesina remarked, stressing the importance of partnerships to amplify the impact of development efforts across Africa.

According to the statement, the discussions around energy, a key issue for the AfDB, come as the institution prepares to co-host the Africa Energy Summit, where African leaders are expected to endorse an Africa Energy Compact aimed at expediting Mission 300’s electrification targets.

The African Development Bank, partnering closely with MDBs like the World Bank, is spearheading transformative projects in energy, agriculture, and climate resilience across Africa.

Adesina’s agenda in Washington includes critical bilateral meetings with development partners and a gathering of founding partners for the Africa Investment Forum.

Slated for December in Morocco, the 2024 Africa Investment Forum seeks to connect investors with high-impact opportunities across Africa’s agribusiness, energy, healthcare, transport, and digital technology sectors. In its past five years, the forum has attracted over $180 billion in investment interest, underscoring Africa’s growth potential in various sectors.

US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen commended the AfDB’s significant progress on the development front, noting its impactful initiatives such as the Mission 300.

Yellen also highlighted the bank’s proactive efforts in addressing challenges of fragility and conflict, specifically mentioning an AfDB-backed loan aimed at boosting agricultural productivity for displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Adesina’s involvement at this critical juncture comes ahead of his participation in the 2024 Borlaug Dialogue and World Food Prize in Iowa, where he will join African Heads of State to discuss solutions to global food security challenges and agricultural innovation, says the statement.

As the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings continue until October 26, discussions from these forums and upcoming summits are poised to set the pace for renewed and coordinated global efforts to propel Africa towards sustainable development, positioning the continent as a resilient, growth-oriented region in an era of mounting global challenges.