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MARCH 2021 | Habari | AUDA-NEPAD Newsletter

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AUDA-NEPAD lends an ear to Africa’s Youth

The CEO of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki participated in a webinar aimed at discussing key issues on Africa’s development, with Africa’s youth. The webinar themed, ‘Lending an ear to Africa’s youth, took place on Tuesday, March 16. It brough together six young people from six regions in Africa. The selected youth discussed with the CEO, their perceptions on the issues they face and the role they should play in Africa’s socio-economic development.  Through this event, Dr. Mayaki reiterated that it is essential to give voice to African youth to solve the continent’s development challenges. 

AUDA-NEPAD: Does money and focus equal ownership and trade?

With trading having officially started under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1 January 2021, the African Union (AU) and its member states are now under pressure to make this agreement a success. But as analysis of the agreement shows, most gains are not expected from tariff reduction but rather from reducing non-tariff barriers and from trade facilitation – where improving trade-related infrastructures is key.

Empowerment of Women with AUDA-NEPAD
Interview with Ms Fati N’zi-Hassane, Head of Human Capital & Institutions Development
 

Ever since I became an adult, I have always been very interested about promoting mechanisms that can help societies reach more equality. Inequalities come in many forms: social inequalities, inequalities based on disabilities, on racial or ethnic background, even on political opinions and sexual orientation. However, gender inequality is what I consider being the mother of inequalities. It is one we get exposed to everywhere, starting with our own family environments and we are socialised to accept it as a fact. I believe it is because as a society we tolerate gender inequality, that we are more prone to accept all other inequalities.

The world is running out of time to act on the commitments to
end TB

“Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally and remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers,” said Chimwemwe Chamdimba, Principal Programme Officer for the Southern Africa TB and Health Systems Support System at the African Union Development Agency - NEPAD. “Each day, nearly 4000 lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease, global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000,” She stated.

AUDA-NEPAD, UNDP Partnership on 100,000 micro, small and medium scale enterprises initiative to review strategy

The African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) it’s strategic partner on the development of the MSME Academy of the 100,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Initiative for all Africans are set to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from the 26th – 28th March 2021 to review its strategies, share experiences, successes, lessons learnt and it gains in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 and to further scale up on its partnership all in a bid to position the continent to recover and rebuild from the economic shock caused by COVID-19.

The AUDA-NEPAD’s Pandemic Resilience Accelerator announces its first cohort 

The Pandemic Resilience Accelerator for African Health-Related Businesses was founded by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), a pan-African institution at the forefront of policy harmonization, in partnership with JICA, the official development assistance agency of the Government of Japan, and with support from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm.

Blue Economy: Africa’s Untapped Potential for Economic Growth

Africa is one of the most blessed continents in the world in terms of its potential marine and terrestrial natural resources. However, most of these riches, particularly the marine resources which contribute to the Blue Economy, are yet to be responsibly utilised to foster the economic transformation of a rich yet poor continent in the world.

Life in Africa hinges on the restoration of its forests

When we drink a glass of water, take medicine for fever, write in a notebook or build a house, we do not always make the connection with forests. And yet, these and many other aspects of our lives are linked to forests in one way or another. According to an assessment released by the UN last year, around 4.06 billion hectares of forests remain in the world today.

Improving the Soy Value Chain in Mozambique

“Southern Africa has a growing demand for soybean. Soy production and utilization in Mozambique is increasing rapidly due to demand from poultry millers and soybean based products such as soymilk, soy flour and soy protein, however, farmers often lack access to the necessary inputs and knowledge on production practices, necessary to improve productivity. In an attempt to meet the expected domestic demand for soy in a sustainable manner, Grow Africa, IDH and Solidaridad set up a programme across Angonia and Gurue in Mozambique, aiming at increasing the soy volumes produced by small holder farmers by promoting the soy and soy seed production, strengthening the local supply chain through engagement with smallholder farmers for improved social and economic development.