African Dev't Bank to Discuss COVID-19, Elect President

Addis Ababa, August 24/2920( ENA)The economic impacts of COVID-19 in Africa and election of a president will be the top agenda of the African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings scheduled for 26-27 August 2020. 

This year marks the 55th meeting of the Bank's Board of Governors and the 46th Annual meeting of the African Development Fund, which is the Bank's concessional arm, according to a press statement of AfDB.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the continent's shores in early March, over 1 million confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded in Africa and the pandemic has hit the region's economies hard in the wake of falling commodity prices and containment measures by governments that have led to country lock downs.

 For several months, the Bank has been extending support to regional member countries in cushioning their economies, health systems, and citizens' livelihood from parallel health and economic impacts from COVID-19, the statement stated.

 In April 2020, the Bank established a COVID-19 Response Facility of up to 10 billion USD to extend flexible support to African sovereign and non-sovereign operations. As of August 20, 2.29 billion USD in CRF funding had been approved for ADB member countries, it further pointed out.

A further 1.186 billion USD has been disbursed to ADF member countries, with approvals ongoing. In March, the Bank also raised a record 3 billion USD with a COVID-19 social bond floated on the London Stock Exchange.

According to the press statement, Governors will also vote on August 27 to elect the eighth president of the  Bank. The incumbent, Akinwumi Adesina, is running as the sole candidate for a new five-year term, it was learned.

He was elected for a five-year term on May 28, 2015, by the Bank's Board of Governors during that year's Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.      

Bank Governors are typically the finance and economy ministers or Central  Bank Governors of the 54 African regional member countries and 27 non-regional member countries.   

The previous annual meetings the African Development Bank were held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in June 2019.