October 15, 2020 12:00 am | Discover Africa News

OPINION: A Heartfelt Tribute to Institutions and People Who Never Stop Caring, By Nafissatou N’diaye Diouf

OPINION: A Heartfelt Tribute to Institutions and People Who Never Stop Caring, By Nafissatou N’diaye Diouf

The sight of David Beasley, in a recent tweet, sitting on the floor of the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Niger surrounded by staff, celebrating a well-deserved Nobel peace prize win, brought back memories of Nasseiba Ali.

I was on assignment for the Associated Press to uncover an ongoing acute food crisis in Niger. My journey led me to a life-changing encounter with Ali, a 20-month-old girl who weighed just 12 pounds.

I waved, talked, sang to her, but it prompted no reaction from Ali. Little did I know that her eyes clouded at night, one of the symptoms of her chronic malnourishment.

A mission initially scheduled for one week stretched for an entire month and led me to Zinder, Maradi, Tawa, and Agadez. I met Ali and her grandmother at a feeding center set up in Maradi, 540 kilometers (335 miles) from Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Ali was lucky to make it to the center, barely alive after her grandma trekked several hours with her on her back.

Despite an exceptionally hard and emotionally charged assignment, I witnessed first-hand the outstanding work of hundreds of dedicated and selfless champions on the frontline of hunger.

The WFP’s 2020 Nobel Peace Prize win is only natural. Indeed, it is a testimony of the humanitarians’ admirable mission to help end world hunger, often in emergency settings.

Today, 690 million people still go to bed on an empty stomach.

One in nine people worldwide still does not have enough to eat.

The WFP’s gong is a defining moment in history, yes, but more importantly, it has moved the critical issue of hunger on top of the global agenda. Thus, igniting and conveying a renewed sense of urgency.

It is a defining moment for the institution forging ahead to move the needle on ending world hunger, the leadership of its Executive Director.

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has created a renewed impetus to rally around hunger, scale-up efforts to mobilize much-needed funds.

Despite raising US$ 8bn in 2019, US$ 4.1 billion is still needed to bridge the funding gap.

At stake are the lives of millions on the brink of starvation.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee described the humanitarian organization as “a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”

Without taking away anything from the WFP, I can say that the WFP’s gong is a defining moment in history for multilateralism, and our collective resolve to save lives, change lives and make a difference.

Other equally dedicated multilateral institutions, such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the Asian Development, to name just a few, deserve our attention.

Indeed, these institutions provide lifesaving support to millions globally, often in extremely fragile settings.

At the Bank, we did our part to provide relief to our Regional Member Countries with a USD 10 billion COVID Respond Fund. The funds helped bring urgent relief and retool our economies in the wake of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

When COVID-19 hit, WFP’s Beasley warned of potential famine of “biblical proportions.”

The Bank’s feed Africa strategy aligns with the WFP’s objectives to end hunger. Approvals under the Bank’s Feed Africa priority amounted to UA 884.7 million in 2019, making a difference in the lives of 20.3 million people, 9.6 million of them women (https://bit.ly/3775Fyj).

Through my lens as an African woman, a wife, the scenes of empty thatched-roof huts where villagers store grain, the scenes of acacia leaves boiled into a thick paste, eaten in the evening in hopes it will lull the children to sleep are still vivid.

Fifteen years after my encounter with Ali, the world is still gripped by vast food insecurity. Yet, there is every reason to be hopeful. Not because the challenges are fewer, not because we have the resources at hand, but simply because there is a sense of renewed impetus around reversing hunger.

As Nelson Mandela said: “remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.” The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize is a key milestone. A moment to celebrate while we brace up for future challenges and more wins!

Nafissatou N’diaye Diouf is the Ag. Director, Communication and External Relations of the African Development Group. A former Associated Press Journalist for West and Central Africa, Diouf has covered several crises including an acute food crisis in Niger in 2005

Senegal’s Yacine Fal, appointed DG, AfDB President Cabinet Office

Senegal’s Yacine Fal, appointed DG, AfDB President Cabinet Office

Seasoned Senegalese technocrat, Ms. Yacine Fal, has been appointed the Director General of the Cabinet Office of the President of African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org).

A statement by the AfDB said Fal’s appointment is effective from 1st November 2020.

As Director General, Ms. FaI will oversee the administrative and operational work and activities of the Cabinet Office of the President. Primarily, she will provide oversight of all units and departments directly reporting to the President. She will also ensure enhanced delivery efficiency and effectiveness for all Presidential initiatives and Bank operations, as per agreements with respective Vice Presidency Complexes. She will oversee the work of senior staff to improve overall coordination and engagement of the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors with the Board.

“Yacine Fal, a Senegalese citizen, is a seasoned and results-oriented business development and service delivery professional with over 20 years of experience in banking, legal and procurement fields.

“Ms. Fal joined the African Development Bank as a Principal Legal Counsel in the procurement unit (1998-2007) and subsequently served as Manager in charge of the reform implementation team in the office of the President (2007-2008). She was appointed Officer in Charge of the Procurement and Fiduciary Services Department (2010-2011); and Manager of the Procurement Services Division (2008-2013). Yacine later served as the Resident Representative of the Bank’s Morocco Office (2014-2017)”, said the statement.

In 2016, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina appointed Yacine as the Deputy Director General of the North Africa Business Development and Service Delivery Office.

Commenting on her appointment, Yacine said “I am greatly honored by the confidence reposed in me by President Adesina to support him in ensuring the successful implementation of his bold vision for the Bank and the continent. I look forward to leading teams in the President’s Cabinet Office to provide managerial, administrative and operational bandwidth and to assure the success of the President’s vision and mandate following his historic re-election with 100% vote of the Bank’s shareholders.”

Yacine holds a Masters of Law degree (1984) from the University of Dakar, where she specialized in corporate and tax law, and a postgraduate degree in International Law (1987) from the University of Paris X.

According to Dr. Adesina, “Yacine is a highly capable manager. She brings vast knowledge and experience of the Bank’s legal, procurement, human resources, processes, systems, and operations to her new position. I am delighted to have Yacine lead a restructured Cabinet Office of the President that will comprehensively support the delivery of my vision and mandate to strengthen the Bank and accel erate Africa’s devel opment.”

Ms. Yacine Fal was the Country Manager for the North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office with effect from 1 December 2016. The North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office is part of the new business approach of the Bank to accelerate its business and development impacts across Africa. As Country Manager, a new senior executive position in the Bank, Ms. Fal was responsible for management oversight over country resident representatives and portfolio operations in key countries and serve as the deputy to the Director General in the overall management of the regional office operations.

Ms. Fal, Senegalese, became the Resident Representative for Morocco in 2014, where she coordinated and managed the Bank’s largest country portfolio consisting of 34 operations worth €2.4 billion.

She is well grounded in the Banks processes, systems and operations. She earlier worked as Manager, Procurement Services Division from 2008 to 2013, where she supervised and coordinated a team of fifty staff distributed between the Banks headquarters and twenty-four field offices. She managed the deployment of a critical mass of specialized procurement staff and established mechanisms and business processes to ensure increased responsiveness, technical quality and adequate compliance with Bank procurement policies. She was appointed as Manager in the Office of the President in 2007-2008, where she was responsible for managing the reform implementation team. She earlier worked as Principal Legal Officer for Procurement Law and Policy, from 1998 to 2007.

Ms. Fal holds a Masters of Law degree (1984) from the University of Dakar where she specialised in corporate and tax law, and a post-graduate degree in international law (1987) from the University of Paris.

The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said of the appointment: “Ms. Yacine Fal brings good experience from managing the Bank’s large country portfolio in Morocco. She combines deep institutional knowledge of the Bank with experience in legal, procurement systems, finance and operations, all of which are critical as we roll out the new business model of the Bank to accelerate its development impacts across Africa. I am very pleased that Yacine will bring her rich experience to support the Bank’s operations in North Africa, where the Bank will establish its new regional operations”.