Addis Ababa - African Union Commissioner Josefa Correia Sacko Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, requested financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the implementation of projects related to nutrition and food security.
In a meeting at the AU headquarters, with the vice-president of the AfDB, Beth Dunford, Josefa Sacko said that it is a programme of paramount importance, as it represents a battle aimed at improving the social condition of peoples.
With a view to ensuring accelerated and sustained economic growth, aimed at meeting Agenda 2063, Josefa Sacko explained that the AU commission is intensifying efforts to achieve environmental sustainability, climate resilience of African economies and communities, to the modernisation of agriculture and the consequent increase in productivity and production.
She stressed that decision-making and actions on the climate are fundamental in development sectors, such as agriculture, energy, health, disaster risk reduction, among others, with the necessary mobilisation of financial resources being a “handicap”.
Josefa Sacko said that the majority of African economies are based on agriculture, including societies and communities that depend heavily on the environment and natural resources, which implies challenges with regard mainly to vulnerabilities arising from unsustainable management of the environment, effects of climate and climate change, population growth and low technological development.
As for the blue economy, she assured that the Commission engaged in discussions with the AfDB and recognised the mutual interest in advancing various sectors of the blue economy, as well as ensuring adequate funding for continental projects.
With regard to the environment, the AU Commissioner clarified that there is an urgent need to obtain resources in order to prepare a comprehensive AU environmental strategy to guide efforts related to it, including the circular economy, as well as support to facilitate the “ Plastics ban campaign for a pollution-free Africa.”
She expressed hope that AfDB get involved in operation of the climate finance pillar of the Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP) and providing financial support in holding the AU Summit on water and sanitation, scheduled for Dakar, Senegal, in March 2019. current year.
The official further said that Africa's leadership remains strong, with a commitment to the pan-African vision enshrined in Agenda 2063.
