Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Antonio Pedro has painted a grim picture of poverty in the continent, warning that the situation is worsening thanks to multiple economic and social crises.
Africa must lead the charge in mobilising domestic resources to recover from this scourge which has widened inequality, Pedro told participants at the 41st meeting of the Committee of Experts that kicked off Wednesday.
He said Africa risks missing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it currently leads in global poverty.
Pedro cautioned that without bold financial and climate action, Africa will be locked into a poverty trap noting that it has more than half of the world’s poor – 54.8 percent in 2022.
He said the COVID-19 outbreak had pushed 62 million people in the continent into poverty in just one year, with an additional 18 million estimated to have joined their ranks by the end of 2022.
As many as 149 million non-poor remain at high risk of falling into poverty, Pedro said, further elaborating that 695 million people in Africa were either poor or face the risk of falling into poverty.
“Women and girls remain particularly vulnerable, and we are facing a potential reversal of the hard-won gains made on gender equity,” said Perdo, adding that, “Africa cannot just stay the course and hope that it gets better. It must lead the charge.”
The challenges are not insurmountable if Africa can implement systemic change and build resilient and sustainable systems, shifting away from a primary focus on efficiency that has dominated past decades, he noted.
The acting UNECA chief said investments in sustainable building up capital in critical assets – including human, infrastructure, and natural resources – were needed to provide an environment that can facilitate achieving the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.
Pedro said governments must design strategies that simultaneously integrate economic, social and environmental objectives.
“First, we need to finance our development,” Perdo urged, emphasising that getting the macroeconomic fundamentals right can unlock the potential of home-grown solutions.
Nonetheless, he said, Africa still needs a fairer and more just global financial architecture that responds to its needs, bemoaning that many countries currently cannot access international financial markets because of rising interest rates and unworkable existing debt relief mechanisms.
He noted that Africa must aggressively pursue sustainable industrialisation and economic diversification to transform its natural resources into tangible benefits for its people, indicating the battery and electric value chain development was a case in point.
“Put simply, our wealth in natural resources must work for the majority, not the few. To get to this point, we must be intentional in our approach, said Pedro, ncting that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can increase intra-Africa trade.
“We must take center stage on climate action. While we cannot overlook the fact that we are disproportionately suffering on impact and financing alike, we have significant opportunities to rebalance the scales on climate finance,” Pedro added.
MG/as/APA