UNDP highlights that the African continent is facing an unprecedented crisis
While Africa is yet to fully recover from the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses another major threat to the global economy with many African countries being directly affected.
Speaking at a news briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Regional Bureau for Africa Director said that “we have never experienced greater pressure and challenge on our ability to sustain peace and development on a healthy planet as we experience today. A global pandemic that upended the world and changed it forever. We have seen resulting from that, but also in terms of pre-existing conditions, rising poverty and inequality”.
Emphasizing that global solidarity is needed more than ever, UNDP’s Ahunna Eziakonwa added that “we saw how Covid- 19 complicated the effort to maintain or to overcome the insecurity that’s created by many forces including violent extremism and the impact of this, the consequence, affected live and livelihoods but also creating an immense discontent about the population which is led to a regression in democracy”.
The war in Ukraine affects food, fuel and financing of the African continent. For Raymond Gilpin, UNDP’s Africa Chief Economist and Head of the Strategy, Analysis and Research Team “this is an unprecedented crisis for the continent, and it’s unprecedented because the continent is facing a trifecta: the ongoing effects of Covid pandemic, the newly felt effects of the Russia-Ukraine war and thirdly the climate related challenges and pressures”.
Some countries in Africa depend on up to 80% of wheat coming from Russia and Ukraine, both often referred to as the world's breadbasket. The rise in prices that will begin could create another front of discontent and possibly unrest, warned Raymond Gilpin. “The global inflation has been imported into African economies, because Africa is so dependent on imports for food, fuel, medicines and consumer durables. We are going to see tensions, whether or not this will spill over into violent protests is unclear. But what history, particularly recent history, has told us is that this is a distinct possibility”.
UNDP stressed that particularly countries with upcoming elections where the electoral environment is already quite emotional could lead to additional social pressure.
As inflation rates are soaring, it is also becoming more difficult for household and companies to enhance property and to reduce poverty. “We were hoping to see a bounce back from the poverty challenges that we had experienced during Covid. An estimated 50 million Africans being pushed back into extreme poverty is going to be more difficult for them to climb out of poverty”, said UNDP’s Africa Chief Economist. Concerns are growing that a worldwide shortage of fertilizer will lead to rising food prices, with knock-on effects for agricultural production and food security.
Also the environment will be impacted by the current crisis. UNDP anticipates that about 100 million Africans who were able to afford sustainable energy before the Covid-19 outbreak, will return to unsustainable resources. “As the cost of fuel becomes more expensive, energy sources, energy prices, don’t fall in African countries, we are going to see millions of households going back to unsustainable energy sources, and this in many fragile environments, in particular looking at places like the Sahel”, said Raymond Gilpin, UNDP Africa Chief Economist“. He added that “we are going to see a lot more deforestation and a roll back of a significant progress that had been made in the greening of the Sahel.”
-ends-
1
5
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Press conference on the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt, on the margins of the sixteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16).
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNFPA , WFP , WHO , OCHA , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Populations Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
2
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2
5
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.