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<p>When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, majority of African countries were quick to respond to mitigate the impact. However, these responses have come at the expense of recovery. Now countries in Africa face fiscal vulnerabilities. What will it take to recover? CNBC Africa filed this report.</p>


COVID-19: How Africa can chart the path to recovery

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<p>At the State House visit to President Buhari, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the African Continental Free Trade Agreement provides a unique opportunity for Nigeria to improve its standing on trade. She also urged the government to add value to products to create jobs and trade more.</p>


WTO Director General: AfCFTA provides a unique opportunity for Nigeria to improve trade

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<p>At the Forbes Africa Leading Women Summit, the Director General of World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says that her recipe for success has been enjoying the job that she does and giving it her all. She joined Forbes Africa’s Peace Hyde to talk about this and more.</p>


#LWS2021: Okonjo-Iweala on her definition of success

WTO Director-General, Okonjo-Iweala on her definition of success

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<p>Last week, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala started the job as the first female, first African to lead the World Trade Organization. She comes as the role of the trade body has been questioned. How much power does she hold to fix things? Keith Rockwell, Spokesperson of WTO joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: WTO cites vaccine rollout as top priority for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

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<p>Micro and small businesses trade globally, cultivating environment for small African businesses Covid-19 has hit small businesses the hardest , and with an African heading the World Trade Organisation, African small businesses have the opportunity on a global trade platform. CNBC Africa’s West Africa’s correspondent Peace Hyde spoke to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO’s Director General at the 6th Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit 2021.</p>


#LWS2021: WTO DG Okonjo-Iweala on how address inequality by less developed countries

#LWS2021: WTO DG Okonjo-Iweala on how to address inequality by less developed countries

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<p>The World Trade Organisation unanimously confirmed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday as the first woman, first African in history to lead the organization. The Nigerian economist is expected will take the job on March 1. What does her appointment mean for Africa? Career Diplomat, Paul Batibonak, joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ngozi’s appointment as WTO chief is a proud moment for Africans

Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as WTO chief is a proud moment for Africans, says Paul Batibonak

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<p>Nigeria’s Former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been selected as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, a position she will occupy until August 2025. This comes in a year where Africa is forging ahead with the continental trade pact.  Meanwhile, Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 16.47 per cent in January from 15.75 per cent in December. Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Financial Derivatives CEO: What Okonjo-Iweala’s WTO appointment means for Africa

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<p>Following her selection as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and African to hold this position, highlighted her top priorities at a press conference.</p>


Okonjo-Iweala lists her top priorities as WTO Director General

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<p>The World Trade Organisation’s General Council is set to hold a virtual meeting today to decide on the appointment of the next Director General. Nigeria’s Former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is set to become the first woman, first African and first black person to hold the top position at the WTO if appointed. Niyi Falade, CEO of Crusader Sterling Pensions joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


WTO DG: What Okonjo-Iweala’s leadership means for Africa


<p>The global economy faces profound uncertainties, particularly in the face of the&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/covid-19">COVID-19</a>&nbsp;pandemic. In addition, faith in the efficacy of international bodies such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm">World Trade Organisation</a>&nbsp;(WTO) has been weakened by a power struggle between China and the US.</p>



<p>As the process for appointing a new head of the organisation moves into its final phase, it’s worth considering what front runner Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could bring to the complex role of managing an international organisation, including designing and implementing reforms.</p>



<p>The WTO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm">describes itself</a>&nbsp;as a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. A key objective of the WTO is the liberalisation of trade for the mutual benefit of its members. This concept has become a divisive issue as a result of the perceived imbalances in the rights and obligations of members and the perceived uneven distribution of the gains from trade.</p>



<p>Okonjo-Iweala would be in a position to use her multifaceted experiences to energise the WTO’s 164 members to work harder to achieve the value of the multilateral trade systems. Given her experience in being able to diplomatically manage people and institutions resistant to change, she could also provide the impetus for member countries to overcome the challenges that have paralysed the trade organisation for years.</p>



<p>Okonjo-Iweala has gained acute negotiation skills from her experiences in negotiating with institutions and countries, as she did when she negotiated for Nigeria’s debts relief.</p>



<p>In addition, Okonjo-Iweala has held top positions in several international bodies, including corporates as well as not for profit organisations. Her ability to serve in senior positions in these disparate cultural settings means that she will be able to navigate the complex terrain of an organisation that has a mandate to serve the interests of 164 member states.</p>



<p>Her international exposure also means that she has developed an extensive network across the globe which she is bound to call on in the WTO job.</p>



<p>In addition, Okonjo-Iweala has a proven track record in carrying out successful reforms both at the World Bank and as the&nbsp;<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/reforming-unreformable">finance minister in Nigeria</a>. Carrying out these reforms would have required negotiating with various constituencies.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-early-days">The early days</h2>



<p>Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was born to a royal family of Chukwuka and Kamene Okonjo on 13 June 1954, in Delta State, Nigeria. Her parents were both professors at the University of Ibadan. She completed secondary school at the International School Ibadan and St. Anne’s School, Molete, Ibadan. The young Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala proceeded to Harvard University. She graduated in 1977 with honours in economics. She went on to complete a PhD in regional economics and development at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</p>



<p>Okonjo-Iweala’s professional life points to decades in the thick of economic policy – global as well as local.</p>



<p>She worked for many years at the World Bank where she started as an intern. After gaining her PhD she returned to the bank to work as a development economist. She was to spend 25 years at the institution, rising to the position of vice president.</p>



<p>Okonjo-Iweala spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low income countries during the&nbsp;<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16505?locale-attribute=en">2008-2009 food and financial crises</a>. For example, as managing director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.</p>



<p>In 2010, she was chair of the World Bank’s successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/apr/16/world-bank-president-jim-kim">In 2012</a>&nbsp;she became the first female and black candidate to contest for the presidency of World Bank Group. She lost to Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College.</p>



<p>Having worked for about 25 years in the World Bank, negotiating and pushing for progressive agreement and development, Okonjo-Iweala has developed keenly honed negotiation skills.</p>



<p>In addition, she is an outsider to the WTO who offers the comprehensive skills and experience needed to shake up the organisation and bring progress to world trade. Her African origin places her on political neutral ground, enabling her, among other things, to objectively mediate issues between China and US.</p>



<p>These skills and traits also mean that she’s in a strong position to build a trade institution where there is greater trust among its members.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-her-service-to-nigeria">Her service to Nigeria</h2>



<p>In 2003, she was appointed Nigeria’s minister of finance by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo. She became the first female finance minister and had several reforms to her credit.</p>



<p>As minister of finance in Nigeria, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cgdev.org/topics/nigerian-debt-relief#:%7E:text=In%20October%202005%2C%20Nigeria%20and,of%20any%20Paris%20Club%20debt.">that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria’s debt</a>, including the outright cancellation of $18 billion.</p>



<p>She had several battles with powerful political interests in Nigeria. She slashed the number of agencies in the country. She drastically cut fuel subsidies in a subsidy scheme that was enmeshed in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/nigeria-fuel-subsidy-scheme-corruption">difficult web of corruption</a>&nbsp;that made the country lose $6.8bn over a three-year period.</p>



<p>Okonjo-Iweala introduced practical economic reforms which changed the worldview of Nigeria as seemingly hopeless and comatose. She turned around the largest economy in Africa.</p>



<p>Nigeria, for the first time in history, had electronic financial management reforms. She also introduced macroeconomic reforms and many policy strategies like a medium term expenditure framework and medium term budgeting.</p>



<p>For a brief period in 2006, Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria’s first female minister of foreign affairs. After resigning from government she set up a research organisation, NOI Polls.</p>



<p>In 2011 she was reappointed as minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy by the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan. She served in the position until 2015. In that time, Nigeria’s economic growth rate remained at an average of 6% per annum.</p>



<p>Under her leadership, Nigeria’s Bureau of Statistics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-06/nigerian-economy-overtakes-south-africa-s-on-rebased-gdp">rebased the gross domestic product</a>for the time first in 24 years. This saw Nigeria emerge as the largest economy in Africa. She took a lot of heat for the government’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy. Protests ensued and the policy was reversed.</p>



<p>I have no doubt in my mind that Okonjo-Iweala would be an exemplary leader of the global trade organisation because she would balance policies between the advanced economies and developing ones to achieve sustainable global economic growth and development.</p>


Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: how global and local experience would play out in WTO top job


<p>GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s candidate to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) top post said on Monday she is seeking Washington’s backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners.</p>



<p>Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went “really well” as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business.</p>



<p>Delegates say Mohamed, a 58-year-old minister and former WTO chair, is one of the favourites alongside Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo as director general, although weeks of campaigning lie ahead.</p>



<p>The WTO has never been led by a woman or an African.</p>



<p>“The rulebook needs to be upgraded because of the concerns that are being expressed about the rules not being fit for purpose,” she said, adding that resuming the top appeals court would be a priority and that she hoped this would be on the agenda of the next major WTO meeting in 2021.</p>



<p>The United States has paralysed the Appellate Body by blocking new judges.</p>



<p>In an apparent nod to Washington, she referred to concerns about the body’s “overreach”.</p>



<p>Asked if that meant she sympathised with the U.S. position, she said: “Those concerns that have been raised, they would not have been raised if they did not have solid reason to raise them.”</p>



<p>The U.S. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>



<p>Mohamed’s supporters say she combines deep WTO knowledge with a drive to overhaul its 25-year-old rules. “The difference between me and them is I have worked this system,” she said.</p>



<p>However, she must win over those African countries who have expressed support for Okonjo-Iweala.</p>



<p>Over the past week, countries have been hosting Geneva cocktail parties to showcase candidates.</p>



<p>The WTO eliminates them in batches, starting with those unlikely to win consensus from 164 members.</p>


Amina Mohamed

Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

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<p>Yesterday afternoon at least two of the African candidates for the top job at the World Trade Organization went in for their interviews before delegates at its headquarters in Geneva in Switzerland.  Kenyan government minister Amina Mohamed and former Nigerian finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala 15 minutes each to put forward their case for the job. Then each was grilled for 75 minutes by delegates about their vision for the future of world trade. John Stremlau, Honorary Professor of International Relations joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


What reforms are needed for the WTO?

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<p>At least two of the African candidates for the top job at the World Trade Organization will go for their interviews before delegates at its headquarters in Geneva in Switzerland today. Kenyan government minister Amina Mohamed and former Nigerian finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala 15 minutes each to put forward their case for the job. Then each will be grilled for 75 minutes by delegates about their vision for the future of world trade. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Chris Bishop took a look at the background. International Relations Analyst, Brook Spector unpacks this further.</p>


Here is what awaits the next WTO leader

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<p>The fight against COVID-19 must include a climate change strategy that rebuilds stronger, inclusive economies geared for low carbon growth. That’s according to Former Nigerian Finance Minister and MD of the World Bank Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was recently appointed to the WHO’s Covid19 special envoy. This follows her appointment to the African Union’s COVID-19 envoy earlier this month. Dr Okonjo Iweala joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on why climate change should be part of Africa’s COVID-19 strategy


<p><em>Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria, co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate</em></p>



<p><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis</a>, a tragedy that is all at once fast and slow-moving, personal and global. The virus has killed more than 150,000 people. Livelihoods have been hit hard as communities are cut off and businesses are forced to close. Country leaders are understandably looking for ways to <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/03/coronavirus-economy-low-carbon-investments">stimulate their economies</a> immediately. </p>



<p>During a crisis of this scale, it is understandable to the familiar.&nbsp;But, for their own sakes,&nbsp;governments&nbsp;must avoid&nbsp;defaulting&nbsp;to familiar investment habits – namely,&nbsp;ramping up production and use of high carbon emitting fuels.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The pandemic, together with the Saudi-Russia oil price tussle last month, have had a stark impact on oil markets. Oil futures recently went&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/upshot/negative-oil-price.html">negative for the first time in history</a>. This has highlighted how vulnerable countries with fossil fuel-dependent economies are to volatile fuel prices: in Sub-Saharan Africa, oil exporting nations could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uneca.org/stories/eca-estimates-billions-worth-losses-africa-due-covid-19-impact">lose up to $65 billion</a>&nbsp;in revenues in 2020 as crude oil prices continue to tumble. Even before COVID-19, the global transition to a low-carbon economy was sparking a decline in oil prices. The pandemic has only exacerbated this trend, underscoring the need for diversifying these countries’ economies.</p>



<p>This is the time to invest in diversifying the economy, to build resilience to future shocks, not lock-in further dependence on fossil fuels. Conversely, investing in renewables and better grids in many countries will enable wider access to energy and greater self-reliance, enabling countries to take control of their economic prospects and insulate themselves from whimsical oil and gas markets.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Efforts to boost economic growth out of this health crisis in a way that locks in more&nbsp;fossil fuel production&nbsp;and use&nbsp;will&nbsp;only&nbsp;exacerbate&nbsp;other health crises, including&nbsp;the ongoing climate crisis&nbsp;and air pollution crisis. This&nbsp;will have&nbsp;dire implications&nbsp;for&nbsp;communities through more frequent and severe natural disasters, and more rapid spread of&nbsp;infectious diseases due to climate change.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Climate-induced changes in the movement patterns of humans, animals and pathogens will make viral outbreaks&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2014/09/04/how-climate-change-is-exacerbating-the-spread-of-disease/">more common</a>.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;just one big reason&nbsp;why&nbsp;we must&nbsp;respond to COVID-19 by building&nbsp;back better in terms of&nbsp;economies that are resilient to future shocks&nbsp;and accelerating the transition to inclusive, low-carbon growth.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Moving away from&nbsp;fossil fuels is challenging, particularly&nbsp;in developing and emerging economies&nbsp;with pressing development&nbsp;needs.&nbsp;Before COVID-19&nbsp;was a household name,&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;was already&nbsp;working to bring over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/03/28/poverty-in-africa-is-now-falling-but-not-fast-enough/">400 million people</a>&nbsp;out of poverty and over&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1180443/icode/">200 million</a>&nbsp;out of hunger.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some&nbsp;countries,&nbsp;including my own Nigeria,&nbsp;are reliant on&nbsp;oil and gas&nbsp;production to&nbsp;help finance these social gains.&nbsp;A careful and just management of the&nbsp;low-carbon&nbsp;economic transition is&nbsp;essential, to avoid&nbsp;stranded&nbsp;industries,&nbsp;communities and workers, exacerbating&nbsp;inequality.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A&nbsp;better&nbsp;future,&nbsp;where all jobs are green and decent, poverty is eradicated, workers are supported, and communities are thriving and resilient&nbsp;across all sectors of the economy, starts with&nbsp;a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_432859.pdf">just transition</a>&nbsp;today.&nbsp;That means&nbsp;working closely with affected workers and communities to ensure they benefit from the new economy that will emerge, while also directly investing in more diverse, clean energy alternatives and&nbsp;avoiding propping up failing oil and gas operations.</p>



<p>As the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare, robust social protection&nbsp;policies and programmes&nbsp;are&nbsp;essential to meet basic needs during periods of unemployment, re-training or education.&nbsp;A just transition means&nbsp;diversifying local economies, generating new industries, new services and&nbsp;building&nbsp;new&nbsp;essential&nbsp;skills&nbsp;across the workforce&nbsp;and&nbsp;adaptive capacity&nbsp;across&nbsp;communities&nbsp;to ensure they are resilient and benefit from a new climate economy. This&nbsp;will require new types of policies&nbsp;and accompanying investment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many&nbsp;wealthy regions are&nbsp;already&nbsp;supporting a just transition. Last year, Germany approved a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bund-laender-einigung-zum-kohleausstieg-1712774">$45 billion</a>&nbsp;aid package for the nation’s coal regions&nbsp;and companies&nbsp;to&nbsp;support the transition to&nbsp;make the country coal-free by 2038.&nbsp;And the&nbsp;European Commission’s&nbsp;Green Deal, now a cornerstone of the EU’s COVID-19 response,&nbsp;includes a&nbsp;€100&nbsp;billion&nbsp;‘<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2020/01/14-01-2020-financing-the-green-transition-the-european-green-deal-investment-plan-and-just-transition-mechanism">Just Transition Mechanism</a>’&nbsp;to help retrain workers who lose jobs in shuttered coal mines or steel factories.&nbsp;Other&nbsp;countries&nbsp;are&nbsp;approving&nbsp;similar funding packages, but none of&nbsp;them&nbsp;include&nbsp;aid&nbsp;for&nbsp;the transition in&nbsp;developing nations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Now more&nbsp;than ever,&nbsp;rich countries&nbsp;must&nbsp;support the&nbsp;developing world in the pursuit of a&nbsp;healthy and prosperous future for all.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;the time when we can and must design&nbsp;a new social contract, and&nbsp;demonstrate solidarity&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;communities that are the most vulnerable.&nbsp;We must apply every tool at our disposal to&nbsp;advance&nbsp;responses to the pandemic&nbsp;that&nbsp;secure incomes and jobs,&nbsp;address&nbsp;the&nbsp;immediate health needs,&nbsp;and promote&nbsp;a just transition forward&nbsp;toward an inclusive, low-carbon and resilient economy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the climate crossroads the world was already facing.&nbsp;This terrible moment in history demands us to&nbsp;build back better.&nbsp;The world’s larger economies have a responsibility to lead the&nbsp;charge.&nbsp;Fortunately,&nbsp;low-carbon&nbsp;solutions are cheaper and more available than ever before.&nbsp;The&nbsp;New Climate Economy&nbsp;finds that bold climate action could deliver&nbsp;<a href="http://newclimateeconomy.report/2018">$26 trillion in economic benefits</a>&nbsp;between now and 2030, and these benefits would start immediately. It could also generate over 65 million jobs in 2030.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We are living in uncertain and frightening times.&nbsp;But&nbsp;we must&nbsp;be brave. We must&nbsp;aim to&nbsp;do more than survive, we must thrive.&nbsp;We&nbsp;must&nbsp;improve lives&nbsp;by&nbsp;shifting away from&nbsp;dirty,&nbsp;carbon-intensive&nbsp;industries.&nbsp;Low-income regions cannot do this alone.&nbsp;The world’s&nbsp;developed economies must invest&nbsp;in a better way, a more just way.&nbsp;This&nbsp;is&nbsp;the challenge of our lifetimes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


Op-Ed – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: A global response to COVID-19 that doesn’t fully support developing countries is no response at all


<p><em>By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria and Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate</em></p>



<p>As African heads of State convene at the African Union (AU) Summit, they will discuss the AU 2020 theme: “silencing the guns”. Conflict and instability still present serious challenges across the continent, hindering development and perpetuating poverty. </p>



<p>2020 is also a critical year for climate action when countries are urged to enhance the ambition of their climate commitments. Current commitments <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019">fall short</a> of the Paris Agreement target to limit temperature rise to levels that will avoid the most adverse impacts of climate change. </p>



<p>Stepping up climate ambition matters particularly for Africa. While African countries have not created the climate crisis, they are some of those that are most vulnerable to climate impacts. Over 3 million people were severely affected by <a href="https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/cyclone-idai-quick-facts">Cyclone Idai</a> last March, which destroyed as much as half of Mozambique’s annual crops and critical infrastructure. By 2050, climate change could force more than <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461">86 million people</a> to move across countries in sub-Saharan Africa.  </p>



<p>Rising conflict, political instability and the climate crisis are inextricably linked. Conflict happens for many reasons, but water insecurity, and its <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/11/water-could-limit-our-ability-feed-world-these-9-graphics-explain-why">subsequent impact on land resources</a>, is often a factor. In 2017, water played a major role in conflict in <a href="https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/whdt2018_web_final_singles.pdf">at least 45 countries</a>, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East. As climate change increases the risk of drought, in Africa &#8211; where <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/water">one in every three people</a> already face water scarcity &#8211; the stakes are increasing too. </p>



<p>The connection between instability and climate change is not limited to Africa. More than 7 million people in 185 countries <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/climate-transitions-wont-happen-without-social-justice-and-greater-democracy">participated in climate protests last </a>September to demand that their governments step up climate action. But there is also resistance to climate policies that don’t put people first. Social unrest in France, Chile, Ecuador and elsewhere in 2019 demonstrated that to be acceptable, fuel and energy price reforms and climate policies must deliver clear benefits to people and in particular vulnerable communities. </p>



<p>I myself saw this first-hand when, as Finance Minister, our Government led a reform of costly fossil fuel subsidies in Nigeria. Fortunately, we have a mounting body of evidence that shows that a people-centred approach to climate action is possible.  </p>



<p><a href="https://www.wri.org/news/people-centered-climate-action">People-centred climate action</a> aims to unlock social and economic benefits, target these benefits to further equity and ensure a just transition away from a high-carbon economy. This can include measures such as restoring ecosystems in ways that also raise rural incomes, reduce emissions, and build resilience; or using revenues from carbon pricing to better target support to low- and middle-income households. For example, using these savings or revenues to invest in <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/climate-change-hurting-africa-s-water-sector-investing-water-can-pay">secure clean water and sanitation services</a> for the poorest in Africa can help achieve key development goals.</p>



<p>Identifying opportunities where African countries
can&nbsp;lead on climate action whilst&nbsp;achieving&nbsp;both development and
climate targets&nbsp;is critical to deliver social benefits.&nbsp;Recent
research shows that&nbsp;Ethiopia,&nbsp;host country of the AU
Summit,&nbsp;can&nbsp;create jobs, ensure national food security and surpass
its milestone of becoming a middle-income country, all while establishing a solid&nbsp;foundation
for a new climate economy. Launched in January, the&nbsp;<a href="https://ethiopianmonitor.com/2020/01/08/a-new-nature-based-food-and-land-use-economy/">Food and
Land&nbsp;Use Coalition’s Action Agenda for a New Food and Land Use Economy</a>&nbsp;highlights&nbsp;crucial&nbsp;entry
points of action&nbsp;that will deliver multiple benefits for&nbsp;sustainable
development.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These benefits include improving incomes of more than
700,000 smallholder&nbsp;farmers&nbsp;transitioning to commercial crop
production, increasing agricultural GDP by $362 million from dairy and
poultry&nbsp;commercialisation, overcoming rural financing gaps,&nbsp;and
increasing the value of credit-constrained smallholder producers by up to 60%
per hectare.&nbsp;Such&nbsp;findings provide a powerful example for Africa,
where investments to help poor smallholder farmers adapt to climate
change&nbsp;could significantly increase incomes and slash poverty&nbsp;to
boost resilience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>People-centred climate action is already happening in parts of Africa. Distributed renewable energy systems, for example, are quickly creating new opportunities for energy access and gender parity. In Ghana, the availability of solar mini-grids boosted women’s entrepreneurship by 29% and increased<a href="https://medium.com/power-africa/solar-mini-grids-boost-womens-entrepreneurship-8479e4c1f8f8"> their incomes by eleven times</a>. In the land-use sector, the Kenya-based <a href="https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/who-we-are">Green Belt Movement</a> has planted millions of trees on degraded land with explicit goals to improve rural women’s livelihoods, responding to their need for water, food, firewood and increased incomes. </p>



<p>Many African leaders are well versed in the sustainable development opportunities that lie in tackling climate change. Many can also see how their people and their political fortunes will benefit from leadership on this issue. That’s one reason why <a href="https://www.climatewatchdata.org/2020-ndc-tracker">47 African countries</a>, have already indicated their intent to enhance or update their climate commitments in 2020, showing their leadership to implement the Paris Agreement. </p>



<p>2020 provides a unique opportunity for African leaders to simultaneously address the risks of political instability, pressing development needs, and the impacts of climate change. This process clearly can – and must – target social and economic benefits to enhance equity and improve the livelihoods of the poor. Africa can lead with a people-centered approach that can propel sustainable development in ways that improve millions of people’s lives. </p>


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Op-Ed: Now is the time to put climate change on the African Union’s agenda: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

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<p>Nigeria&#8217;s former Finance Minister and Board chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says economically, for every dollar invested in health, you get twenty dollars in return. She discussed the rate of return on investments in health and how the cost of delivering health care services to families in Africa can be reduced.</p>


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