10th African Economic Conference underway

Delegates from across Africa and the world, are meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the 10th edition of the African Economic Conference (AEC), to address poverty and inequality in the region, and discuss the way forward to the new development agenda.

The conference, which is themed “Addressing Poverty and Inequality in the Post 2015 Development Agenda” and scheduled for November 2 to 4,  is being organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It is expected to provide a platform for researchers, policy-makers, development partners, civil society organizations and private sector representatives, to critically analyze the impact of current inclusive growth strategies on poverty, inequality and human development in Africa.

The AfDB says though Africa has made rapid progress in increasing the proportion of seats held by women in parliament and increasing women’s share of non-agricultural employment, Africa’s performance still lags behind other developing regions.

“Africa is currently on the move, but inequality constitutes an impediment to its efforts to reduce poverty.”

“The ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary schools continues to improve in many African countries, but the transition of girls and boys between different levels of education requires urgent attention. Addressing these challenges is therefore critical to achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development”, the Bank says.

Since its inception in 2006, the African Economic Conference has served as a platform for knowledge sharing among AfDB, ECA and UNDP.

The African Development Bank says this year’s theme is in recognition of the prominent role of knowledge, and the three institutions’ quest for contributing to reducing the proportion of Africans in extreme poverty.

By Emmanuel Odonkor