A United Nations report has found that more than 70% of Africa’s economies are at severe risk from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The African Development Bank is one of several international organisations, including UN specialised agencies and development lenders, that are considering a plan to boost food production in Africa and avert a heavy toll on the African continent.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the establishment of a 32-member UN Global Crisis Response Group - which he chairs - in March. Its members are the heads of the various organisations. Its first brief found that 41 African countries face maximum exposure to at least one emergency caused by the war.
“The war is supercharging a three-dimensional crisis – food, energy and finance – that is pummelling some of the world’s most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” Guterres warned at a virtual press conference.
The Global Crisis Response Group will help decision-makers around the world mobilise solutions and develop strategies and recommendations to help all countries - including the most vulnerable – deal with the interlinked crises. Preliminary analysis suggests that as many as 1.7 billion people in 107 economies are exposed to at least one of the three risks highlighted by the group.
African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi A Adesina said the emergency food plan would build on the success of existing programmes, such as the African Development Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation initiative which has provided 11 million farmers across 29 African countries with technologies like drought-resistant maize, heat-resistant wheat, and higher-yielding seed varieties.
“We need really to have a sense of urgency – restrictions need to be abolished, there should be no hoarding of any of these products, and most importantly, we need to use immediately the financial instruments available,” Guterres said.
Russia and Ukraine provide around 30% of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and over half of its sunflower oil. At the same time, Russia is the world’s top natural gas exporter, and second-largest oil exporter. Russia and its neighbour Belarus export around one-fifth of the world’s fertilisers.
