AfDB to tackle Africa’s looming food crisis

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a $1.5 billion Emergency Food Production Fund to help address the global food crisis caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The funds will help 20 million African farmers produce an additional 38 million metric tons of food to address growing fears of famine and food insecurity on the continent.

As the only AAA-rated financial institution in Africa, the Bank has consistently maintained this credit rating by all major global credit rating agencies.

The emergency food production package comes as the African Development Bank meets in the Ghanaian capital Accra for its 2022 Annual Meetings this week. Delegates will take stock of the Bank’s projects, which have impacted the lives of 335 million Africans in the past five years while looking ahead to new challenges and opportunities.

Overcoming Africa’s challenges includes rebuilding from Covid-19. At the start of the pandemic, the Bank provided a crisis response facility of up to $10 billion to African countries to help overcome its social and economic impacts. It also launched a $3 billion Covid-19 social bond on global capital markets, at the time the highest US dollar-denominated social bond in history. According to Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, this has helped provide social protection to nearly 30 million vulnerable people.

Adesina said: “Our Covid-19 rapid response facility helped stabilize African economies. It helped train 130,000 health workers and provided advice to 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses.”

Discussions at the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings in Accra will also cover a range of topics, including climate change, where the Bank, together with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the Global Center on Adaptation, is mobilizing $25 billion to support climate change. adaptation and resilience.

The meetings will also include a substantive discussion on providing greater financial support to women entrepreneurs. The Bank’s Affirmative Action for Women in Africa is one of its flagship programs.

Adesina said: “With the support of President Emmanuel Macron and the G-7, our Affirmative Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) is raising $5 billion for women-owned businesses. In 2021, we paid $483 million to financial institutions to lend to women’s businesses. We will lend $500 million for women in 2022.”

Highlighting these successes, Adesina dismissed recent criticism of the Bank’s management. He points to a survey conducted independently by a global human resources company, which found high levels of satisfaction (85%) among bank staff.

The Bank’s director says: “Our achievements, the Bank’s exceptional management, governance systems and dedication cannot be denied or misrepresented on the basis of externally fabricated falsehoods, distortions, disinformation and a deliberately orchestrated smear campaign to try to tarnish our image.

“We will tell our story. We will not be defined by wrongdoers, lies and prejudice. We are proudly Africans”.

The African Development Bank has 81 interested countries that support its work. 3,000 participants are expected to attend this week’s Annual Meetings in Accra.