The continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa’s socio-economic landscape, coupled with other occurrences such as severe weather patterns and civil wars in some AU Member States, has occasioned significant changes in the development needs of many countries. Although development priorities are outlined in National Development Plans, the unprecedented occurrences in the recent past have led to significant and unpredictable changes in investment options. AUDA-NEPAD’s programmatic plans which were largely informed by National Development Plans have had to be reviewed periodically to realign them with countries’ new development needs.

Travel constraints brought about by COVID-19 have hampered the physical delivery of AUDA-NEPAD’s services. While online platforms like webinars have been deployed, it is clear that the virtual delivery of services reduces quality effectiveness.

The austerity measures placed on AUDA-NEPAD’s budget, explained mainly by the global COVID-19 pandemic, has also impacted the scope and depth of the Agency’s interventions. During the year in review, most of the activities were delivered by staff from their desks. In some instances, the scope of the activities had to be trimmed down owing to inadequate resources.