Africa beyond Covid-19
Speakers
Description
'What if some African governments are doing a better job than our own of managing the coronavirus?' (New Yorker, May 2020)
Covid-19 has gripped the world, shaken the multilateral system and caused widespread uncertainty. One thing remains clear, there is no going back and adaptations will need to be made to shift towards a new normal. The key to this will be developing new forms of cooperation between countries and communities around the globe.
Early signs from Africa are that in many countries the response to Covid-19 has been effective – perhaps because they were able learn from how the pandemic unfolded across the world from China to Italy and through Europe. But contrary to commonplace narratives about aiding Africa, recent events highlight opportunities for Europe and elsewhere to learn from Africa. Beyond the immediate response to the pandemic, countries across Africa will face considerable challenges in the recovery, with an urgent need to finance weakened economies and to adapt existing approaches to trade, labour markets and social protection.
This event explores what new approaches and enhanced forms of collaboration will need to be built between Africa, Europe and beyond, as well as delivering on the many commitments being made.
Convened in partnership with the European Think Tanks Group, this event is the first in a series of engagement ahead of the upcoming European Union-African Union Summit and is also part of the ODI at 60 global reset dialogue series, challenging decision-makers to provide more sustainable and equitable pathways for the future.