from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – EXPERTS have challenged African countries to explore alternative strategies to recover from multiple shocks.
They have been urged to include food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation framework in their economic agenda.
This was said during the African Economies Research Conference (AERC) 57th Biannual Research Workshop in Nairobi.
Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, Kenya Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury and Economics Planning i, reiterated the need for governments across the continent to focus on protecting private investments, recovering the health infrastructure, education and nutrition as part of recovery from the multiple shocks.
He also encouraged African economies to develop, regulate and even protect the markets as part of economic recovery. He further challenged economic researchers to focus on domestic resource mobilisation and digital resolution in the African set-up.
In the last two decades, African economies have weathered multiple negative global shocks.
The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the war in Ukraine and climate-related shocks have caused permanent damage that could take years to mend.
“We need to figure out solutions in our own way on how to tackle these many shocks,” said Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Chair of the AERC Board.
Prof. Théophile Azomahou, Acting AERC Executive Director and Director of Training, noted that the economic fundamentals of most African economies had not changed much in the last three decades.
The Biannual Plenary will be followed by the 58th conference next year.
Fully developed papers arising from the interactions will be presented.
The papers will be published as a Working Paper Series of AERC as well as a special issue of the Journal of African Economies in July 2023.
– CAJ News