The outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014 fully demonstrated that, despite the significant progress it has made over the past two decades with the support of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Africa still face serious human, institutional and societal capacity constraints.
The Ebola crisis has of course seen the continent attracting a significant wave of sympathy and support from within and outside, for which Africa ought to be most grateful. Continued international solidarity will certainly help eradicate the Ebola epidemic. The more and the better coordinated the better. What the international solidarity cannot and will not do is to prepare Africa to face future crises resulting from health emergencies, natural disasters, etc.
Only a sustained investment in capacity development will enable Africa to prevent, anticipate or manage such crises. An effective capacity for crisis management is indeed an integral part of the continent's sustainable development.
During the past 24 years, ACBF has successfully supported the continent in building capacity for the formulation and management of economic policies and assisted the continent in achieving strengthened public administration, transparent and accountable financial management, statistical development, effective oversight of governmental management by Parliaments and improved participation of civil society and private sector in the policy-making process. ACBF was able to make such an effective contribution thanks to the tremendous support of its African and non-African member countries and its multilateral partners (the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme).
In 2015, ACBF will continue leading the continent's capacity development efforts, building on its strategic partnerships with the major pan-African and sub-regional institutions among which the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the Regional Economic Communities. Likewise, the Foundation will consolidate its strategic partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector organizations. Among its key activities for 2015, ACBF will assemble all these partners and many more, including policy-makers, the academia, civil society and the private sector at its third Pan-African Capacity Development Forum to be held during the first week of September 2015, with the goal of reflecting on the capacity development imperatives of Africa's economic transformation. Meanwhile, the Foundation will continue to support the African Union Commission and African countries in their effort to address their capacity challenges, in particular, in articulating the capacity dimensions of the African Union's Agenda 2063 and in its integration into national development plans. Addressing capacity challenges in countries affected by conflict will constitute a major focus of the Foundation's work in 2015.
With your support, ACBF will continue to move the frontiers of Africa's capacity forward for a sustainable and inclusive development. It is with this determination that I wish a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous 2015 to Africa and the Friends of Africa's development.
Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie
Executive Secretary
