President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has urged African governments, to prioritise health security, with the same urgency as national defence.
Adesina, who said this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, also called for a more equitable global financial system, that supported the continent’s development needs.
He emphasised the need to scale up both public and private investments in medical research, infrastructure and pharmaceutical innovation across Africa.
“Africa must treat health security as a matter of national defence.
“Our universities need world-class medical science facilities, to lead cutting-edge innovations in medicine and pharmaceuticals,” he said.
According to him, building a strong health and pharmaceutical industry, anchored in research and development, is the only way Africa can protect itself from future health shocks.
On global financing, Adesina criticised the skewed distribution of emergency financial tools like the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).
He noted that Africa was shortchanged during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic response.
“Out of the $650 billion in SDRs issued globally, Africa received only $33 billion, just 4.5 per cent.
“This is, in spite of being the continent most in need and with the least resources, to manage the economic fallout,” he said.
He added that to address this imbalance, the AfDB, in collaboration with the African Union, led the push for the rechanneling of unused SDRs from wealthy countries to Africa, leveraging the bank’s AAA credit rating.
Adesina revealed that a new framework developed jointly by the AfDB and the Inter-American Development Bank was approved by the IMF board, allowing SDRs to be rechanneled through multilateral development banks.
“This is a game-changer, as each dollar of SDR re-channeled, can be leverage four to eight times.
“That means a $50 billion reallocation could unlock up to $200 billion in new development financing, at no cost to taxpayers,” he said.
The AfDB president described the framework as the most impactful way to support Africa’s development at a time of declining global aid.
To boost Africa’s financing prospects, Adesina said the African Development Fund (ADF), the bank’s concessional lending arm, was raising an additional $27 billion from global capital markets.
According to him, these funds will benefit 37 low-income countries on the continent.
As the ADF undergoes its 17th replenishment cycle, Adesina called for strong support from donor countries, to ensure expanded resources for poverty reduction and economic growth across Africa.
“With greater investment in health, innovation and financing, Africa can protect its people, unlock its potential and chart its own path to prosperity,” he said.(NAN)
