President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and his counterpart at the World Bank, Ajay Banga, have stressed the need for more global action against hunger.
Their call comes as this goal to end hunger appears to be slipping further away due to the combined effects of conflict, economic challenges and climate change.
The two leaders were guest speakers at the opening plenary of the 2024 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, on Tuesday 29 October, entitled “Achieving a Hunger-Free World,” at which they reiterated their commitments to ending food insecurity in Africa.
“There is nothing more important than feeding the world. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) play an important role in that,” Adesina declared, underscoring the role of international financial institutions in helping achieve this mammoth task.
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In addition, Adesina and Banga discussed the transformative actions from MDBs in meeting Africa’s annual $1.3 trillion development needs.
Giving examples of innovative instruments to stretch balance sheets, Adesina said International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights or SDRs, if channeled through MDBs, could enable them to become leveraging machines, multiplying resources up to eight times.
“And that’s how you recycle capital to do all the things you need. Think of that,” he said.
Banga praised Adesina’s leadership and expressed confidence in joint initiatives like “Mission 300,” an ambitious project to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
Furthermore, both leaders highlighted the urgency of engaging Africa’s youth in agriculture. They noted that the African Development Bank’s “Enable Youth” program and the World Bank’s focus on youth employment initiatives, reflect a shared commitment to harnessing Africa’s demographic dividend for agricultural transformation and economic prosperity.
“If we don’t put finance behind young people’s ideas, that’s the biggest risk,” Adesina warned.
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The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, gathers experts worldwide to inspire innovative solutions to global hunger.
With this year’s theme, “Seeds of Opportunity, Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy,” the event champions collaboration, legacy, and hope in the fight for food security.
