For a better life: AfDB Human Development Projects transforming the lives of people in Morocco, Rwanda and Tunisia
Africa’s future is in the hands of its youth! Youths account for more than 60% of a population with a billion inhabitants; a population that will more than double in 2050. Africa will have the most abundant human resources in 2040, surpassing China and India. Human capital is at the heart of AfDB reflections and actions to make the most of Africa’s immense wealth. This movie relates the story of men and women whose lives have been transformed through human development projects financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the areas of health, education and social inclusion. Skills and technology development will drive our action to transform Africa. Our main areas of focus are agriculture and food security, infrastructure, governance, regional integration, gender or fragile states. Our main area of focus is skills development and innovation through better technology adaptation. We will not spare any efforts to solve the difficult and painful problem of unemployment and underemployment among youth and women. To attain this objective, we will address the skills mismatch in the labour market and low productivity in the informal sector, a major provider of jobs for youths and women. We are also strongly encouraging social entrepreneurship and an economic policy that promotes job creation. We have created a new educational model that underscores new opportunities offered by the private sector and ICTs. The provision of distance learning and training thanks to ICTs will enable African youths to acquire skills that meet the labour market’s future needs. Furthermore, we are strengthening our efforts to accelerate the transformation of technical and professional education to foster innovative entrepreneurship and productivity. This will enable the continent to better position itself in the value chains, especially in the agricultural sector. The African Development Bank is currently focusing its efforts on the development of critical skills in various economic sectors, especially infrastructure and natural resource management for improved competitiveness. It will develop science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills. Furthermore, it will create regional knowledge and excellence networks to generate cross-border development and knowledge-sharing opportunities. If our focus has been mainly on skills and technology, the 2011 Arab Spring and the recent crisis in Burkina Faso have brought to light the urgent need to create jobs for youths, improve social inclusion and establish safety nets. The continent’s population explosion coupled with the rise of an incredibly well educated and connected youth, will result in very high demand for social services. The population will increasingly ask for accountability and more fairness. That is why we have included among the pillars of our strategy two important dimensions. The first is accountability through the strengthening of the participation of the voiceless, especially youths, women and marginalized groups in the delivery of services. The second is the creation of inclusive systems to ensure the development and social advancement of the poor and vulnerable groups and their release from the poverty trap. Generally, 40 to 60% of public expenditure is devoted to social sectors (education, health, social protection programmes). However, if AfDB governance programmes focus primarily on public finance management, we will henceforth dedicate ourselves more to governance aspects in education and health programmes. This movie will help you discover some of our financial inclusion programmes, ranging from support for young entrepreneurs through start-up capital to the creation of the first IVY-league University.