World Bank will invest $15B in Africa’s human capital in 2021-2023

Economic governance
Monday, 15 April 2019 10:39
World Bank will invest $15B in Africa’s human capital in 2021-2023

(Togo First) - On April 11, 2019, the World Bank announced a new plan to invest $15 billion in human capital in Africa, between 2021 and 2023. This was in Washington, during a panel themed “Developing human capital in Africa: Shaping a generation’s future.” Participants present included Hafez Ghanem, World Bank’s Vice President for Africa, Letsie III, King of Lesotho, Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s Minister of ICT, among others.

A continent’s main asset is its people,” said Hafez Ghanem, adding that “sub-Saharan Africa scores the lowest of all the world’s regions on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index.” He attributes this performance to “high mortality and stunting rates in the region, as well as inadequate student learning outcomes – all of which have a direct effect on economic productivity.”  

To reverse this trend, Africa “must provide its youth and future workers a means to fully exploit their human capital. This is the key to enabling Africans access a world rich in opportunities and promises, as well as to have the best return on investment,” Ghanem continued. Let’s emphasize today, 43% of the total African population (1.2 million) are less than 15 years old.

With its new human capital investment plan, the World Bank aims at helping the African continent better invest in its people, reduce mortality, and improve health, education, social protection and women’s empowerment, by 2023.

In details, the amount mentioned will come in the form of grants and concessional loans, which will be used to drastically decrease child mortality –saving 4 million lives – avert stunting among 11 million children and increase learning outcomes for girls and boys in school by 20%.

Séna Akoda

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