Delivering a resilient future for all
African policymakers have recommended strategic policy mandates for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to support member States in tackling poverty and vulnerability for the COVID-19 recovery and delivering a resilient future for all.
In the face of interlocking global crises, they issued their recommendations on 18 November after the fourth session of the Committee on Social Policy, Poverty and Gender – hosted by ECA on the theme ‘building forward better towards an inclusive and resilient future in the context of COVID-19’.
The mandates will allow ECA to transform into a more fit-for-purpose partner in meeting the needs of member States on tackling poverty and inequality, while addressing gender inequality and unsustainable urbanization over the next two years – ultimately delivering concrete improvements to standards of living for Africans.
With 431 million Africans still living in poverty, policymakers called on ECA to scale up efforts in supporting member countries to address vulnerabilities associated with poverty, while pushing for greater recognition of unpaid work, time poverty and decent youth employment.
Annual Development Effectiveness Report
The African Development Bank played a critical role in supporting millions of people across the continent, affected by the impact of the Covid19 pandemic in 2020. This is according to its latest Annual Development Effectiveness Review.
The pandemic caused fiscal deficits to double and indebtedness to rise sharply, reducing the capacity of African countries to invest in economic recovery. The African Development Bank responded swiftly with a Covid-19 Response Facility that provided $3.6 billion in emergency budget support. The funding went into key areas such as health, social protection, and economic assistance, benefitting 12.3 million vulnerable households across 31 countries.
For instance, in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal the Bank helped to subsidize water and electricity bills for vulnerable households. In Sierra Leone, it supported the training and protection of 11,000 frontline health workers. With the Bank’s support, Ethiopia’s daily Covid19 testing capacity quadrupled. And in Morocco, the Bank helped the country upgrade health infrastructure, allowing for efficient patient care.
