This year’s overarching theme is Innovative Solutions for Turbulent Times. The first session, on October 6, Investing in People, Transforming Communities: Human Capital Results in Africa, will provide an update on human capital progress in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The second session, on October 10, Safeguarding Food Supply Chains, will continue the discussion on the food crisis from the perspective of supply chain disruptions. The third session, on October 11, The Urgent Need for Climate Finance, will discuss the urgent need for climate financing amidst limited fiscal space.
In July 2022, heads of agencies issued a statement calling for urgent action to address the global food security crisis. They stressed that the disruption in supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the war in Ukraine, have severely impacted the intertwining food, fuel, and fertilizer markets. A resulting spike in food prices has led many countries to implement export restrictions, further exacerbating the food crisis for the most vulnerable. The statement calls for prioritizing immediate support to the vulnerable, facilitating trade and international food supply, increasing food production, and investing in climate-resilient agriculture.
In the meantime, limited resources and strained budgets also create a risk for rebuilding human capital post pandemic. The aforementioned global phenomena are a concern for the lives and livelihoods of people already lagging behind. According to the 2020 Human Capital Index (HCI) – which measures how much countries are investing in their peoples’ knowledge, skills, and health – Sub-Saharan Africa had been making human capital gains in the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, but progress was uneven and large deficits remained. The region had an average score of 40% pre-pandemic (compared to 56% worldwide), meaning African children born in 2020 could expect to achieve only 40% of their potential productivity by their 18th birthday, compared to what they could achieve with complete education and full health. The COVID-19 crisis and its current consequences, as well as the fragile global environment, threatens to set back progress and widen human capital gaps with negative impacts disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable populations.
Lawmakers have to operate in the limited fiscal space left by the pandemic to address these problems. Innovative policy solutions become essential and urgent, as is building the capacity of governments to anticipate and prepare for future challenges. This event aims to filter out applicable solutions that can be considered across countries.