A look back at the 6th AU-EU Summit’s side event: “(Un)equal Africa : How to ensure equitable trajectories to prosperity?”

The Side-Event “(Un)Equal Africa – How to ensure equitable trajectories to prosperity?”, co-organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and AFD, has been held on 14 February 2022 in the margin of the 6^th African Union-European Union Summit.

The discussions held highlighted the link between the fight against climate change and the fight against inequalities in Africa.

Speakers began by noting that inequalities have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa and globally. For example, studies show that women and informal workers have been hardest hit by the pandemic and that their economic recovery is slower.

At the same time, research results show that inequalities are emphasized by the impact of climate change. Indeed, the poorest tend to be more exposed to climate risks than the richest, which causes increasing tensions between different social strata.

This complex relationship between inequality and climate change highlights the need for an ecological and social transition in Africa. As inequality is by nature multidimensional, a comprehensive and systemic approach is needed to address these major challenges. Integrating the private sector and considering social, economic, and environmental solutions simultaneously assure that progress is made towards greater inclusion and resilience.

While partnerships between Africa and the European Union are already strong, stakeholders must take into account the individual contexts and African countries’ sovereignty to meet the challenges of addressing inequality and climate change. Speakers finally agreed on the need to include the most vulnerable people in discussions with stakeholders by empowering them so that their voices can be heard, and to allow African youth to express themselves on these new challenges. 

The replay of the event is available in French and English.

You can also find the main conclusions of the event here.