The 65th meeting of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Steering Committee was convened virtually on 29th April, with a focus on NEPAD’s delivery. The meeting was officially opened by the Co-chair of the Steering Committee, Ms Diyana Gitera, Rwanda’s AUDA-NEPAD and APRM Advisor in the Office of the President.

Speaking on behalf of H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission Chairperson, Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission stated that the commission greatly values the work of AUDA-NEPAD. He added that the Commission has been engaged with the AUDA-NEPAD on several initiatives.

Ambassador Zenene Sinombe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Botswana to the African Union congratulated Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD for the stellar way in which he has been leading the organisation.

Dr Mayaki gave a presentation on the agency’s delivery in 2020, which was in the context of three major shocks namely: the COVID-19 pandemic and its evolution, the scale of eco-destabilisation and reduction of the fiscal space.

Moreover, the organisation’s delivery was against four major challenges of strengthening health systems, diversifying economies of resilience, developing internal markets and strengthening States’ financial capacity. Dr Mayaki explained that the organisation’s delivery was in three key priorities areas, that is, climate change, youth and gender, and infrastructure plus digital transformation.

Key results of AUDA-NEPAD were highlighted in the following areas: environmental sustainability; economic integration; industrialisation; human capital and institutional development; agriculture, food and nutrition security. A report of the progress in establishing centres of excellence was given, as well as an overview of the AUDA-NEPAD COVID-19 response.

Dr Mayaki also highlighted the organisation’s strategic initiatives, which included:

• The Home-Grown Solutions Accelerator for Pandemic Resilience in Africa project, with the objective to strengthen Africa’s pandemic resilience within the immediate and longer-term periods- by accelerating the development and application of home-grown solutions.
• The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, a country-led effort to restore 100 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes across Africa by 2030.
• The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa Priority Action Plan II, a regional and continental effort for accelerated and integrated infrastructure development in Africa.
• African Medicines Agency, dedicated to improving access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products in Africa.

The steering committee meeting concluded with the adoption of the proposed agenda for the next NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee meeting, which is chaired by H.E Mr Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda.