ACCRA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) opened its 2022 annual meetings in the Ghanaian capital, Accra on Tuesday with top African statesmen, politicians, and technocrats in attendance.
In his opening address, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urged the continental concessional lender to help Africa mobilize the badly-needed financial resources for its transformation.
Akufo-Addo said the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current global energy crisis occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine conflict had imposed heavy debt burdens on African countries.
"The combined effect of the debt situation, rising interest rates, and the rising cost of living is resulting in severe macroeconomic and financial instability. What is clear is that the resulting damage can not be cured so easily by the limited fiscal tools at our disposal," Akufo-Addo stated.
He, therefore, called for an elevated role for the AfDB to lead in accessing the needed financial resources to catalyze development on the continent.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said the bank and the African Union Commission had developed an Africa Emergency Food Production Plan to tackle the looming food crisis on the continent due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Adesina said the new food production plan would deliver climate-resilient agricultural technologies to 20 million African farmers.
"The 1.5 billion U.S. dollars plan will be used to support African countries to produce food rapidly. The plan will produce 38 million metric tons of food, including wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans," he said. ■