The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD Releases New publications

At the margins of the 33^rd Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit, The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD has launched a number of publications in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the launch the AUDA-NEPAD Chief executive officer Dr Ibrahim Mayaki said the publications are for both African leaders, policy makers, students and Farmers, all being stakeholders in the road towards agenda 2063-the Africa we want.

The publications included The third African Innovation Outlook III presents the status of Research and Experimental Development (R&D) and Innovation performance in Africa, focusing on the period from 2013 to 2016. The information was derived from R&D and Innovation surveys conducted periodically by African Union Member States as part of the African Science Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) initiative. This Outlook builds on the experience and expertise developed in Member States over the years and provides improved insights based on lessons learnt from the previous editions.

Another publication titled Conditions for Success in the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement focuses on The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) crossed the necessary threshold for continental implementation in May 2019. The speed at which the ratification happened could be interpreted as widespread political buy-in, in part, driven by analysis showing that lowering intra-African trade tariffs can produce significant long-term economic gains. While there is evidence that reducing barriers to trade can unlock economic potential, there are also examples of how free trade agreements can lead to social dislocations and destabilization. Therefore, in the ‘nuts-and-bolts’ of implementation, there will be factors which could foster as well as hinder Member States’ engagement and cooperation in the actual implementation of the AfCFTA. 

AUDA –NEPAD also launched the The First Continental Report on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 publication, this publication resulted from task given to the African Union Commission and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD to coordinate continental-level progress reports towards achieving Agenda 2063’s First Ten-Year Implementation Plan. This report is a consolidation and evidence-based assessment of country and regional-level progress reports on Agenda 2063, complemented with interventions and results achieved at the regional and continental level. It serves as a rallying point for all stakeholders, including national and sub-national governments, regional bodies, civil society, academia and development partners to collectively accelerate implementation of Africa’s development blueprint.

The last publication launched was the The Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative Report which indicated that from 2011 to 2019, the membership of the PICI increased by 50% from 8 to 12 members, reflecting the unequivocal commitment of political leaders to upscale infrastructure across the African continent. Along with South Africa as chair, the PICI comprises Algeria, Benin, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal. Furthermore, in 2019, the PICI members accepted and endorsed the membership of Sudan.

The publications have been distributed and are available for public universities and governments arena,

Partners were asked to disseminate widely the publications.