The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are embracing co-creation to strengthen resilience in Africa.
Following the signing of an agreement in December 2023, representatives of the two institutions met in Abidjan to review progress and further strengthen the strategic partnership.
At the end of the meeting, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, AfDB Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery, said the financial institution and the ICRC were committed to building on their “collective strengths.”
The protocol includes jointly scaling up effective programmes that build resilience and make a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable people affected by fragility, food insecurity and climate change in Africa, according to a press release to APA on Thursday.
“At a time when conflicts, displacement and humanitarian needs are intensifying in several parts of the African continent, our partnership to find sustainable solutions to new and protracted crises is increasingly relevant,” stressed ICRC Regional Director for Africa, Patrick Youssef, who visited the Bank’s headquarters on 21 May.
Yero Baldeh, Director of the African Development Bank’s Coordination Office for States in Transition, said that in line with the AfDB’s fragility and resilience agenda, he and the ICRC share a sense of urgency to promote innovative, bolder, context-specific and conflict-sensitive interventions with scalable solutions.
“We value this partnership not only in terms of the ICRC’s neutrality and capabilities, but also in terms of its presence, access and essential protection – of people and investments – in situations of active conflict,” he said.
 and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are embracing co-creation to strengthen resilience in Africa.){kind=link}