Food Security, Employment Top AfDB, NEPAD Agenda

AfDB, NEPAD vote food security, employment for Africa development

Food Security, Employment Top AfDB, NEPAD Agenda

Ensuring food security and employment are top on the agenda as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Nigeria as they collaborate in the delivery of developmental programmes and projects that would improve the welfare of the African people in line with NEPAD vision.

AfDB and NEPAD in a statement on Sunday by the Special Assistant Media to the NEPAD CEO, Mr Nkem Anyata-Lafia, said that the agreement was reached in Abidjan, the Cote d’Ivoire capital, on October 31, 2017.

AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said, although, Africa was late in its agricultural development agenda in comparison to other continents, there was hope that, with speedy actions, success would be achieved.

To achieve this, Adesina said the AfDB has been reorganised for better delivery of its mandate and responsiveness to the needs of the African continent.

Adeshina said the Bank had established three new Departments: Power, Energy and Green Growth; Agriculture, Human and Social Development as well as that of the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation; each of which is headed by a Vice President.

He also said the AfDB established five Regional Integration and Business Delivery Offices across the continent which would be commissioned on November 19-20 this year adding that Nigeria has one of such Offices.

Some programmes include: 1 Grid-based System and Off the Grid System, which encompasses a 500m USD for facilitating business system for off the grid systems, efforts in clean energy for women and Africa 50, and a solar grid system being experimented in Jigawa State, Nigeria.

Others include :1B USD signed between AfDB, World Bank, Rockefeller and Bill Gates Foundations for technologies in agricultural transformation and another 3B USD to support women in Africa; 25M USD for job- creation for African youth; 150Euro for Boost Africa, an initiative that will be carried out with European Investors; 300m USD for skills development as well as several other empowerment initiatives for the continent, including the oncoming African Investment Forum slated for Abidjan on November 8-9 this year.

National Coordinator /CEO, NEPAD Nigeria, Princess Gloria Akobundu called for stronger synergy in the activities of stakeholders in Africa’s development, while soliciting strong support from the AfDB for the programmes and projects of NEPAD Nigeria.