By External Source
Dec 23 2019 (IPS-Partners)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed the candidacy of African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina for a second term at the helm of the institution.
The decision was announced at the end of the fifty-sixth ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held on Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria.
“In recognition of the sterling performance of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina during his first term of office as President of the African Development Bank, the Authority endorses his candidacy for a second term as the President of the bank,” ECOWAS said in a communique issued after the meeting.
Adesina is the eighth elected President of the African Development Bank Group. He was elected to the five-year term on 28 May 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where the same electoral process will play out next year.
Adesina is a renowned development economist and the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group. He has served in a number of high-profile positions internationally, including with the Rockefeller Foundation, and was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, a career stint that was widely praised for his reforms in the agricultural sector. The former minister brought the same drive to the Bank, making agriculture one of the organization’s priority areas.
Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony, Adesina reminded the group of the African Development Bank’s investments in the region.
“You can always count on the African Development Bank – your Bank,” Adesina told delegates.
ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou commended the Bank’s involvement in West Africa and said it had provided “invaluable technical and financial interventions…in the implementation of numerous projects and programmes”.
The ECOWAS summit included a progress report on the region’s economic performance. It noted the role of the African Development Bank in the continent’s transformation and called for greater cooperation in order to fund projects in West Africa.
“The Authority takes note of the region’s improved economic performance, with ECOWAS real GDP growing by 3.3% in 2019 against 3.0% in 2018, in a context characterised by a decline in inflationary pressures and sound public finances,” the statement said.
“It urges the Member States to continue economic reforms and ensure a sound macroeconomic environment in Member States, with a view to accelerating the structural transformation of ECOWAS economies and facilitating the achievement of the monetary union by 2020.”
The Authority commended efforts made on currency and monetary policy convergence in ECOWAS and laid out plans to advance the movement. These efforts are a key part of the regional integration agenda championed by the African Development Bank, as exemplified by the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to become the world’s largest free trade zone.
Media contact: Emeka Anuforo, Communication and External Relations Department, email: e.anuforo@afdb.org.
The post ECOWAS endorses Adesina for second term as President of the African Development Bank appeared first on Inter Press Service.
By External Source
Dec 23 2019 (IPS-Partners)
The year 2019 was a year of exciting firsts for the African Development Bank Group. The year was marked by innovation and several new milestones that brought us closer to the “Africa we want.”
The Bank pushed its High 5 strategy forward in tandem with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
We saw continuing progress in Africa’s structural transformation, due in large part to projects financed and supported by the African Development Bank. An increase in the Bank’s capital, completed at the end of October, demonstrated shareholders’ high level of confidence in the institution.
The second Africa Investment Forum, held in November in Johannesburg, attests to continuing investor interest in African infrastructure and development projects.
Looking back at 2019’s key moments:
January
On 17 January, the African Development Bank released its 2019 African Economic Outlook report. The theme: ‘Regional Integration for Africa’s Economic Prosperity’ provided short- and medium-term projections on critical socio-economic issues such as employment, and highlighted challenges encountered, and progress made.
Launch of the AEO : https://flic.kr/s/aHsmx6C92x
February
On 10 and 11 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and Lesotho’s King Letsie III co-chaired the official launch of the ‘African Leaders for Nutrition’ scorecard. The continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard reinforces commitments by African governments to end malnutrition and promote healthy children. The event took place as part of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Also, the Bank held its second annual consultative meetings with Governors of the Bank to exchange views and ideas on accelerated engagement in the region. During consultations, the Governors called for a greater focus on women to close Africa’s gender gap, climate change, and development in fragile states.
ALN addis – African Leaders for Nutrition : https://flic.kr/s/aHskSL7HQE
March
The Bank hosted the third African Forum for Resilience at its headquarters in Abidjan, under the theme ‘Fragility, Migration, and Resilience.’ 300 participants including heads of government, international organizations, leaders of civil society, academics, and the business community, discussed several challenges resulting from migration: security, youth unemployment, gender issues, and the effects of climate change.
Forum for resilience : https://flic.kr/s/aHskPrCmMV
April
The Ivoirian minister for tourism, Siandou Fofana, in conjunction with the Bank, presented a government strategy, entitled ‘Sublime Côte d’Ivoire.’ The country’s stated objective is to become the continent’s fifth-leading tourism destination.
Delegations from the Congo, DRC, Chad, and the Central African Republic also met with the Bank to prepare the lenders roundtable. The goal was to mobilize $2.2 billion to finance two comprehensive projects in central Africa’s transport sector.
May
The Portuguese minister of foreign affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, led a high-level delegation to the African Development Bank headquarters and met with Senior Vice President Charles Boamah. A few days later, the president of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, received his mission roadmap as a champion of the African Leaders for Nutrition.
June
The Bank’s Annual Meetings returned to the continent after being held in Ahmedabad, India in 2017 and in Busan, South Korea in 2018. The highly successful and productive meetings took place in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, and brought together some 3,000 participants. The theme was strengthening regional integration in Africa.
Best of video : https://vimeo.com/343230079
July
The agreement to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which took effect at the end of May, began its operational phase. It opens the way for the most significant common market created in recent history. A year earlier, 49 African countries signed the agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, the last step in a vast economic project to integrate 55 African countries and create a common market with a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.
August
Eleven new directors joined the Bank’s Board of Directors.
African heads of states and key business leaders from around the world attended TICAD 7 in Yokohama, Japan, under the theme ‘Advancing Africa’s Development through People, Technology and Innovation.’ The Japan-Africa summit provides an opportunity to explore investment opportunities and learn from Japan’s technological, industrial, economic, and development experiences. TICAD is held every three years alternately in Japan and Africa since 2016.
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina called on Japanese companies to be “bolder” about making investments in Africa.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and the G7 heads of state provided $251 million in loan support to the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative for women entrepreneurs in Africa.
TICAD: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGyTx4x Biarritz AFAWA : https://vimeo.com/380775965
September
The Bank’s president presented the transformational ‘Desert to Power’ initiative to heads of state at the G5 Sahel Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The initiative’s goal is to produce 10GW of solar energy to bring 250 million people out of energy-deprived darkness.
Also, in September, the general secretaries of international financial institutions met for the first time in Africa, at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan.
At the UN General Assembly in New York, the African Development Bank and the United Nations held a first-of-its-kind meeting between both institutions to discuss the accelerated and collaborative delivery of the SDGs and the Bank’s High 5 development goals. Seven African presidents attended the meeting.
G5 Desert to power sahel picture : https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGYGnnm UNGA: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHi1xjK
October
During an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 31 October in Abidjan, the Bank’s governors, representing shareholders from 80 countries, approved a historic capital increase of $115 billion. The institution’s capital more than doubled to $208 billion, which solidified the Bank’s leadership in financing development in Africa. The increase, the largest since the Bank’s creation in 1964, provided clear evidence of shareholders’ trust. Aside from significant opportunities to do more for Africa, the increase in capital will allow the Bank to maintain its AAA rating, with a stable outlook, from the top rating agencies.
GCC picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ4McrV
November
Once again, Johannesburg hosted the Africa Investment Forum.
The Forum ended on a high note with 56 boardroom deals valued at $67.6 billion tabled – a 44% increase from last year. Of these, fifty-two deals worth $40.1 billion secured investor interest.
The Africa Investment Forum is championed by the Bank in partnership with Africa50, Afrexim Bank, the Trade Development Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Islamic Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the European Investment Bank.
Abidjan welcomed the third Conference on Land Policy in Africa, co-sponsored by the Bank.
Also, the Bank co-hosted delegations from around the world for the 1st Global Gender Summit held on the African continent, in Kigali, Rwanda. The gathering, attended by the presidents of Ethiopia – Sahle-Work Zewde, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame – moved the needle forward on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa and around the world.
Several agreements were signed as part of the Bank’s AFAWA initiative to facilitate project financing for women entrepreneurs in Africa.
On 5 November, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of Singapore, was hosted at the Bank’s headquarters as the guest speaker at the third Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers Series.
AIF best of video: https://vimeo.com/373188656 Gender family picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJDsy5D
December
Three key events closed out the year. First, the African Economic Conference held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, where the future of African youth was the focus of discussions. The same week, Johannesburg hosted the fifteenth replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15), during which donors announced $7.6 billion in financing for low-income African countries.
The United Nations World Climate Change Conference (COP25), held in Madrid from 2 to 14 December, was attended by a Bank delegation led by Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth. Nyong was nominated earlier this year as one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy 2019’ by Apolitical, a peer-to-peer learning platform for governments.
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina received the All Africa Business Leaders 2019 African of the Year award in recognition of his bold and innovative leadership in helping shape the development of Africa’s economies. The AABLA award recognizes remarkable leadership and salutes game changers of business on the continent.
All in all, it has been a fast-paced and productive year for the African Development Bank Group.
Our message as we move into 2020, remains loud and clear: The African Development Bank will continue to stand alongside regional member countries to accelerate sustainable development, economic growth, and social progress, and … to make a transformational difference.
AEC best of video: https://vimeo.com/377400840 ADF picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJNciUpThe post Looking back at 2019: Key moments appeared first on Inter Press Service.
By Nayema Nusrat
NEW YORK, Dec 23 2019 (IPS)
“When I think about Bangladesh, I think about everybody. Not everybody is enjoying Rabindranath and the great literature and culture that Bangladesh has. But I think everybody has got the right to have this experience”, deeply felt by late Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities), a unique, integrated development organization that many have hailed as the most effective anti-poverty organization in the world; who passed away December 20, 2019at the age of 83.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. Credit: The Daily Star
Sir Fazle, who was knighted by the British Crown in 2009, grew BRAC into the world’s largest non-governmental organization. BRAC has provided the opportunity for nearly 150 million people worldwide to improve their lives, have enhanced food security and follow a pathway out of poverty. The scale and impact of BRAC’s work in Bangladesh and ten other countries is unprecedented.He pioneered a new approach to development that has effectively and sustainably addressed the interconnectedness between hunger and poverty. In this regard, Sir Fazle broke new ground by melding scalable development models, scientific innovation, and local participation to confront the complex causes of poverty, hunger and powerlessness among the poor.
Sir Fazle was honored with scores of awards in his lifetime for his significant contributions in developing world; he was named as 2015 World Food Prize Laureate for his unparalleled achievements in building BRAC.
Among many of the other distinguished awards he received are, Spanish order of Civil Merit; Leo Tolstoy International Gold Medal; Lego Prize; Thomas Francis, Jr Medal in Global Public Health; Trust Women Hero Award; Inaugural WISE Prize for Education; Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) Lifetime Achievement in Social Development and Poverty Alleviation; David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award; GleitsmanFoundation International Activist Award; Olof Palme Prize; and Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta H Fore expressed his condolence, “All of us at UNICEF will miss his ideas and advice. We will never forget the example he set”.
Sir Fazle, founded numerous projects, including health, agriculture, and education with a vision to pull the poor out of poverty in every way. “Everything we did in Bangladesh we did with one focus: getting poor people out of poverty because we feel that poverty is dehumanising”, Sir Fazle had said to The Guardian.
For anyone growing up in Bangladesh, BRAC is a common name, almost every village kid you will meet inevitably goes to BRAC schools. BRAC’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Centre for Play programmes are designed to provide learning opportunities to children, especially in the early years. The play-based programmes are designed for refugee/displaced children who need help to recover from trauma. BRAC’s pre and primary schools have more than 12 million children graduated.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus, noble prize laureate, Chairman of Yunus Center noted in his tribute to Sir Fazle that how his contributions have positively touched almost everyone growing up or living in Bangladesh – “It is certainly not an exaggeration to say that there is hardly anyone among the 170 million people of Bangladesh who do not benefit in some way from Abed’s programs or enjoy products and services provided by his organizations. If she is a poor person or a village woman, then she is in contact with Abed’s activities at every step of her life – In education, health, income generation, self-Awareness and many more”.
Sir Fazle believed in gender equality, women empowerment and their role in poverty alleviation; in 1978, BRAC established ‘Aarong’, one of the biggest ethical lifestyle retail chains in the country,primarily by engaging rural artisan women who producedhandcrafts aiming at pulling them out of poverty. Today, ‘Aarong’ supports approximately 65,000 artisans impacting lives of more than 325,000 people through ‘Ayesha Abed Foundation’ and 850 entrepreneurs with fair terms of trade; giving them access to BRAC’s holistic support including mental health care, hygiene awareness and subsidized latrines, micro credit, legal aid, day care and education for their children.
Melinda Gates, co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recalled Sir Fazle’s contribution in her message saying, “We were saddened to hear of his passing and will forever draw inspiration from his work, as will the rest of the world, which he left so much better than he found”.
The first ever Sexuality and Rights conference in Bangladesh was held by BRAC School of Public Health, in 2007. It created an inclusive space for both men and women in Bangladesh. There are so many women with successful careers locally and internationally, who would not be where they are today without BRAC School of Public Health.
Nobel Prize-awarded couple Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, in their message, said, “How often do we see people like Sir Fazle Hasan Abed? His absence has left a great sense of loss in all of us”.
BRAC has distributed USD 1.5 billion in micro loans as one of many of its projects to help the poorest people in Bangladesh graduate out of extreme poverty. In order to make micro finance sustainable for the poorest, BRAC built an effective business model around micro financing which included grants known as transfer of assets which could be a cow or half a dozen of goats, or any resources that would generate an income for them; a stipend system until they start earning income utilizing the resources, and one on one counselling sessions which taught them strategies on how to best use the loans and resources to maintain sustainable flow of income and build a habit of saving money.
Former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said, “The scale and impact of what he has done, and yet the utter humility with which he has done everything, is a lesson for every single one of us.”
Another of many of his greatest initiatives was to combat the increasing child and infant mortality rate. During the 1980’s diarrheal diseases became one of the top reasons of the premature mortality of children under 5 years in Bangladesh. BRAC introduced home-made oral saline to the mothers through various campaigning, and started immunization program for infants in village, which were revolutionary steps decreasing the rate of child death. “We went to every household in Bangladesh teaching mothers how to make oral rehydration fluid at home to combat diarrheal deaths”, the pioneer recalled as stated by The Guardian.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sir Fazle Abed’s passion and work in alleviating poverty and empowering the poor inspired many. “My thoughts are with him and his family and friends,” he added.
BRAC now has extended its operations in 14 more countries, touching the lives of many more helpless people globally.
“His nearly 50 years of visionary leadership at BRACtransformed millions of lives in Bangladesh and beyond and changed the way the world thinks about development. Driven by an unwavering belief in the inherent dignity of all people, he empowered those in extreme poverty to build better futures for themselves and their families”, said former US President Bill Clinton in remembrance of Sir Fazle.
There are just a handful of people who change the world and impact millions of lives, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was one of them who will continue to live on globally through his remarkable contributions. Dr. Yunus has articulated it perfectly, “Abed has left behind a confident Bangladesh. The story of his immense courage, self-confidence, and creativity will continue to inspire all generations to come. Abed will live as an icon of Bangladesh for posterity”.
The post A Tribute to Sir Fazle Hasan Abed (1936 – 2019) appeared first on Inter Press Service.