The African Development Bank(AfDB) Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has emphasized the critical need for significantly increased financing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.
Speaking at the Islamic Development Bank’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Riyadh, he highlighted a growing annual financial shortfall of $4 trillion, a gap that threatens to derail efforts to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Adesina addressed a distinguished audience including high-level officials, financial leaders and private sector representatives gathered to mark the occasion. The session focused on assessing the financial strategies essential for advancing global development amidst a landscape marked by economic instability and escalating environmental challenges.
AfDB President said the current annual gap of $4 trillion, up from $2.5 trillion in 2015, has been propelled by recent global economic pressures and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. He detailed the critical role of multilateral development banks in addressing these needs through increased collaboration and innovative financial solutions.
Adesina also spotlighted the AfDB’s strategic High 5 programme as a cornerstone for progress, as underscored by an independent analysis by the United Nations Development Programme. The High 5s—namely; Light Up and Power Africa; Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa—are not just ambitious goals but a strategic blueprint for the continent. Achieving these High 5s, he pointed out, would mean accomplishing nearly 90% of the Sustainable Development Goals for Africa.
In this regard, Adesina highlighted five core areas where immediate action and innovative funding are crucial: Climate change, food security, energy access, health security, and mobilising more resources for SDGs.
Adesina described climate change as the most significant challenge to achieving the SDGs, detailing the devastation it brings to economies through droughts, floods, and cyclones. Africa is the worst affected region in the world, yet it receives the least in terms of climate financing.
“Africa will need $277 billion per year to address climate change, yet it receives only $30 billion annually,” Adesina said, adding that the group “has set a target to raise $25 billion for climate adaptation by 2025.”
He also addressed the issue of volatile food prices exacerbated by geopolitical conflicts, supply disruptions and trade restrictive practices of some major food exporters, reiterating that the African Development Bank’s commitment of $25 billion to support Africa become self-sufficient in food by 2030.
He shared with the audience key successes in transforming agricultural productivity and food security across Africa. He mentioned the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme, which has already delivered climate-resilient crop varieties of wheat, maize, and rice to 13 million farmers.
Ethiopia, through the introduction of heat-tolerant wheat varieties provided by the TAAT programme, has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production within four years and has become a net exporter of wheat.
He thanked the Islamic Development Bank for committing $7 billion during the Feed Africa Summit held early last year by the African Development Bank, the African Union and the government of Senegal. The summit brought together 34 heads of state and government who developed country-led food and agricultural delivery compacts to achieve food security by 2030.
Further, Dr Adesina highlighted the disparity in electricity access, where over 675 million people worldwide lack electricity with 80% of them in sub-Saharan Africa, underscoring the AfDB’s efforts through the Desert-to-Power initiative. This project is developing 10,000 megawatts of solar power across the Sahel and will provide electricity access for 250 million people.
With a significant gap in health services in Africa, Adesina advocated for increased investment in health infrastructure and local pharmaceutical capacities to prepare for future pandemics. He pointed to the current annual investment of $4.5 billion in health infrastructure as significantly insufficient when measured against the actual need of $25 billion. He emphasized the need for self-reliance in healthcare, particularly in preparation for future pandemics, citing the hard lessons that Africa learned from the Covid-19 pandemic.
To counteract this, the African Development Bank Group has committed $3 billion towards quality health infrastructure and a further $3 billion for developing the pharmaceutical industry in Africa. This includes a substantial investment to facilitate the production of medicines and vaccines directly on the continent, bolstered by the creation of the Africa Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, which aims to broaden access to vital technologies and intellectual property rights.