Vaccines, digital infrastructure will prosper Africa – WTO, U.S

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations say access to vaccines, digital infrastructure and women and youth inclusion will propel economic prosperity in Africa.
This was disclosed in a virtual conversation entitled: “It’s Your Turn! Africa’s Recovery Talk Series” hosted by Mrs Vera Songwe, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Monday.
High-level participants at the conversation were: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the UN.
Okonjo-Iweala said Africa was doing well before the COVID-19 and gave an all-African approach to driving prosperity on the continent.
She said “We have to talk of one important thing that will bring Africa back on that sustainable path and that is the vaccine inequity.
“The second is youths and digital. Our youths are our resource and more that 40 per cent of them are on the internet doing amazing things, starting amazing businesses.
“I am very hopeful that if we can encourage our youths and improve our digital infrastructure, digitise our trade even, that can help.
“The other is women and micro, medium and small enterprises inclusion. If we can empower our women and get liquidity to our micro, medium and small enterprises and both work in tandem, because about 50 per cent of many of these enterprises are owned by women, I think that will help us propel a recovery.”
The WTO director-general lauded efforts of African governments in their responses to the all-African approach to the pandemic and in regional governance.
“It shows we can act as one and many innovations are put in place.
“All of these gave us the leverage we needed to dialogue with the rest of the world and think it will result in more vaccines in the next few months. A continental approach is the first thing,” she noted.
She also commended efforts of the UNECA in adding resources and liquidity on the continent.
“One thing that you have started in the UNECA, you are trying to put in place a liquidity and sustainability facility to get to start a repurchase market on the continent, which we do not have, so we have a way of increasing demand of our sovereign bonds, bringing down the price making liquidity more available on the continent.
“That will put additional resources into the pockets and the revenues of our governments and that can help us drive prosperity,” she emphasised.
Meanwhile, Thomas-Greenfield stressed that the issue of prosperity equaled the future and hope for Africa.
She said “The U.S. sees this as an essential step in achieving our goals that if there is a prosperous Africa, we are all successful. That means ensuring multilateral vaccine response to the pandemic.” (NAN)