Cameroon: The Bank is training its regional Member States in the application of the Fragility Lens | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank’s Transitional State Coordination Office organized a training workshop in Yaoundé to strengthen the capacity of regional Member States and regional economic communities in the strategic and operational application of the fragility lens.

The training was led by bank staff from different departments with support from the bank’s Central Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office. It provided a platform to revive the Bank’s engagement in fragile environments; mobilized support to successfully implement the fragility agenda; and scaled-up coordination of community resilience initiatives, particularly in institutional capacity, regional stability and private sector development. More than 60 delegates from 25 African countries and five regional economic communities attended the training.

Serge N’Guessan, General Manager of the African Development Bank Central African Region, Director Yero Baldeh of the Coordination Office for Transitional States and Dorothy Bekolo, Regional Integration Director of the Government of Cameroon, on behalf of the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, were chaired the opening session. Barbara Schuler, head of the humanitarian aid department at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), represented Swiss Ambassador Pietro Lazzeri. SDC, a strategic partner of the African Development Bank in tackling fragility, sponsored the event.

Bekolo said: “The combined effects of fragility factors and the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which continue to affect vulnerable groups, require stronger partnerships and a coordinated approach between the African Development Bank Group, regional member states and regional economic communities to address the trend and build long-term resilience”.

“The partnership between the African Development Bank and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation since 2015 has been mutually beneficial as the insights gained have enabled programs for vulnerability and resilience to be promoted and integrated,” said Schuler.

N’Guessan and Baldeh emphasized that fragility can occur in any context, even in countries with strong and stable institutions. They urged participants to heed the lessons of the training as they identified national development priorities to mitigate the effects of fragility.

Participants received training on the role played by the complexes and departments of the African Development Bank in promoting development in fragile environments. Representatives of participating Regional Economic Communities presented the importance of establishing regional early warning and response systems for crisis prevention.

After the training, participants developed and shared action plans with the Bank Group to support policy dialogue and capacity building for the annual CRFA exercise.