In an announcement at the annual World Food Programme (WFP) executive board meeting, held from 12-15 June 2017, the African Union Commission (AUC) said that it will continue to work with WFP in enhancing the livelihoods of the African citizens
Speaking at the opening ceremony at the WFP annual programme, AUC further added that it will collaborate with the member states to make joint plans for implementing short-to-long term developmental approaches, with an aim to eradicate hunger, build resilience to climate change and other humanitarian disasters.
“In 2014, our heads of state and government made the bold declaration for ending hunger and poverty by 2025, we have since developed frameworks for guiding implementation of programmes and investment plans at the country level and also developed and launched a post-Malabo business and operational plan that includes nine strategic areas which are directly linked with the goal of ending hunger and malnutrition in Africa,” said Josefa Sacko, commissioner for rural economy and agriculture of AUC.
She commented that WFP’s role extends AU for transforming Africa’s agriculture for achieving food and nutrition security to realise sustained economic growth, through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the 2014 Malabo Declaration on agriculture, which aimed at an accelerated agricultural growth and improved livelihoods for the African citizens.
AUC lauded WEP’s role in Africa for the past decades through various initiatives like supplying food aid, school feeding programmes and promoting smallholder farmers through incentive creation strategies etc.
Sacko added, “We recognise that the new WFP Strategic Plan is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and our 2030 Action Plan of the Africa Agenda 2063.”
Apart from the 2017 WFP executive board meeting, Sacko also met the group of African ambassadors in Italy and permanent representatives to the Rome-based UN Agencies, to brief them about the AUC’s current initiatives to boost up Africa’s agriculture and AUC’s role in food security and climate change mitigation.
