February 3, 2022
Date: February 7, 2022
Time: 10:00 am to 11.00am EST; 15:00 – 16:00 GMT; 18:00 – 19:00 East Africa Time
Register via Zoom Link here.
In order to sufficiently recover from the harsh impacts of the COVID-19 shock, reduce poverty, and build a healthier and more prosperous future for the continent, Sub-Saharan Africa needs massive financial resources. The continent needs resources to invest in vaccination and human capital development (health, education, and social protection), in rural and urban infrastructure (power, digital, and transport), and in businesses that create shared value and prosperity for all especially through decent jobs.
Sub-Saharan Africa needs to access affordable global financing just as Northern countries do. This is because Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions have very limited local financing options especially in the face of the current COVID-19 crisis. But the current global financial order is arguably unjust. It gives more possibilities for rich countries to have access to financing than it does to Sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income countries.
The Africa Task Force of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission hosted by the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network-Africa (JENA) brings together eminent experts:
Professor Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University,
Professor James Thuo Gathii from Loyola University Chicago (LUC),
Marta Pedraja, Economy Task Force – Vatican COVID-19 Commission, and
Professor Horman Chitonge from the University of Cape Town (UCT),
to offer suggestions in regard to what the international community can do to establish a more just international financial order that can unblock the flow of global funds to Sub-Saharan African and other developing countries that need them.