Malawian Rebel And US Trained Preacher Immortalized In London Statue
LONDON— A new statue in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square has sparked an unlikely controversy. At center stage is the life of Baptist preacher John Chilembwe, a Malawian national hero.
After completing a religious education in the United States, Chilembwe returned to his East African homeland, where he was killed leading a rebellion against British colonial authorities during World War I.
The statue named “Antelope” was completed by Samson Kambalu, an associate professor of fine art and a lifelong fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford University. Like Chilembwe, Kambalu was born in Malawi.
The last known photograph of Chilembwe was taken in 1914, and this statue aims to reimagine that photo in a novel way. In the photo, Chilembwe stands next to British missionary John Chorley for the opening of Chilembwe’s new Baptist church.
“Chilembwe is wearing a hat, defying the colonial rule that forbade Africans from wearing hats in front of white people, and is almost twice the size of Chorley,” said the government of London in a media statement describing the statue. “By increasing his scale, the artist is elevating Chilembwe and his story, revealing the hidden narratives of underrepresented peoples in the history of the British Empire in Africa, and beyond.”
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The year after the photo was taken, Chilembwe would perish leading his ill-fated uprising against British authorities. British authorities sent thousands of young Africans from the colony to join its military, and thousands more were pushed into forced labor schemes.
Nelson’s Column and the sculpture entitled ‘Antelope’ by Samson Kambalu, recently installed on the … [+] ‘Fourth Plinth’ in Trafalgar Square, on 4th October 2022, in London, England. ‘Antelope’ is a sculpture that restages a photograph of Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley. Chilembwe was killed during an uprising against the British in WW1 and his church was destroyed.
RICHARD BAKER/ IN PICTURES VIA GETTY IMAGES
“I am a Chewa myself like him,” Kambalu said in an interview. “I’m also a contemporary artist. I learnt from him in how you translate aspects of African heritage into the modern.”
While Chilembwe was a member of the Chewa ethnic group, his brief rebellion drew widely from a number of ethnic groups, including the Yao, Lomwe, Nyanja, Chikunda, Ngoni and Tonga. Indeed, there are other pan-African echoes in his life. One incident that led Chilembwe toward the path of rebellion was his shock at the British colonial authorities’ lack of compassion for the plight of refugees who had arrived in Malawi from neighboring Mozambique following a famine there in 1913.
Unusual for his time, Chilembwe studied in the United States at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia. Briefly the capital of the Confederacy at the end of the Civil War, the city had bounced back during Reconstruction. At the time of Chilembwe’s arrival, it had become one of the wealthiest in America. The Virginia Theological Seminary, which was founded in 1886, began admitting Black students in 1900.
Chilembwe had arrived there after coming under the spell of Joseph Booth, an English missionary who played a key role in the spread of various Christian denominations in Nyasaland and South Africa. Booth was affiliated with Baptist, Seventh Day Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist churches during his career as a churchman. He also served as a missionary for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
Ultimately, Booth would be forced to leave both territories by British colonial authorities due to his radical teaching. Booth held unorthodox religious views, including that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday, not Sunday. Booth at one point predicted that by 1914 European colonialism would end in Africa, and independent Black nations would achieve unity with Black people in America. Booth spent much of World War I preaching pacificism outside of Africa, so he had no role in Chilembwe’s uprising. Yet, there is no doubt his ideas and support had a strong impact on Chilembwe’s own worldview.
While studying at what is today the Virginia University of Lynchburg, Chilembwe was exposed to the ideas of African American thinkers like Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass and potentially William D. Dubois, as well as the ideas of America’s Founding Fathers and the militant abolitionist John Brown.
When Chilembwe returned to Africa, his efforts were supported financially by the National Baptist Convention — one of the two largest Black Baptist groups in the United States at the turn of the 20th century.
The statute of the U.S. trained Baptist leader who died leading an uprising against the British … [+]h Empire during WWI has proved controversial with some in the United KIngdom.
JOSEPH HAMMOND/RU
The statue of John Chilembwe known as “Antelope” stands over Trafalgar Square in London. The statute of the U.S. trained Baptist leader who died leading an uprising against the British Empire during WWI has proved controversial with some in the United KIngdom. JOSEPH HAMMOND/RU
Chilembwe soon found a unique voice as a preacher. Historians have debated to what extent millenarianism — the belief in a coming 1,000-year reign of Christ on Earth — and other religious ideas influenced his thinking. British authorities accused him of wanting to create a theological state in the Malawian highlands in the aftermath of the rebellion.
Chilembwe spent most of the rebellion at his church in near-constant prayer. While being pursued in the aftermath of the uprisings, he was shot and killed. Malawi gained its independence in 1964 and embraced Chilembwe as a national hero. His image was unveiled on its currency and the annual launch of the uprising is a national holiday.
Over 100 years after his death, the interpretation of his life remains a contested issue — as a campaign against the statue has unveiled. A “Save Our Statues” campaign petition against the monument has thus far attracted some 2,000 signatures.
Indeed, the debate over the statute of Chilembwe is part of a larger ongoing debate in the United Kingdom regarding public displays related to its imperial history that flared up in the wake of the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“Putting up a statue of John Chilembwe, ‘whose bloody rebellion targeted civilians and who preached beside the decapitated head of one victim’ is obscene,” said Father Marcus Walker, the rector at Great St. Bartholomew’s in London, in a tweet. While that claim is historically accurate according to subsequent investigations by British colonial authorities, Chilembwe was himself not involved directly in the killings or most of the rebellions military operations, instead opting to spend most of the revolt inside his church. By then the rebels had realized their rebellion had failed to create a broadly popular uprising.
Giles Udy of the Keston Institute, which is dedicated to the study of religion in communist countries, pointed out that the grandchildren of those killed during the rebellion are still alive in a tweet criticizing London Mayor Sadiq Khan for permitting the statue.
For his part, Kambalu took to Twitter on Nov. 16 to deny that the statue was meant as a monument while on a visit to the Holy Land. “I have no interest in monuments,” he said.
While the controversy has subsided online in the weeks since the statue’s unveiling, the statue will remain in place until 2024, when it will be removed from its place on Trafalgar’s Square’s Fourth Plinth.
The Fourth Plinth was completed in 1841 and was originally meant to house a statue of the monarch and head of the Anglican church — King George IV. However, this never happened due to a lack of funds. The plinth has been the site of rotating works of art since 1999, including several prior works with religious themes. Notably, Ecce Homo featured a statue of Jesus Christ in 1999 and a statue of an ancient Assyrian deity from 2018 to 2020 – a reference to the many ancient works of Mesopotamian art destroyed by Islamic State group terrorists.
“Antelope” will remain atop the plinth until 2024, when it will be replaced by “850 Improntas” by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles, which features “life masks” of 850 transgender people from around the world arranged in the manner of a Mesoamerican “tzompantli,” or skull rack. Where “Antelope” will be moved to remains unclear.
The year is coming to a close, but the efforts of food and agriculture systems advocates continue to bring awareness and advocacy to some of our most pressing problems. As we look ahead to the new year, Food Tank is highlighting 123 organizations, initiatives, and movements to follow. Youth-led networks empowering the next generation of food systems leaders, food waste warriors, farmers implementing sustainable practices, and blue food advocates are all recognizing the urgency of transforming food for the better. They are calling on public and private sectors, governments, and all of us eaters around the globe to address systemic inequalities, build resilience, and invest in community-led solutions.
Here are 123 organizations striving toward more equitable and regenerative food and agriculture systems to engage with in 2023.
This campaign brings together youth from around the world who are advocating for food systems change. As part of the campaign, members have developed a list of actions and are asking governments and businesses to take action to build more inclusive and nourishing food systems.
Founded by farmer Noah Nasiali-Kadima, AFarmers is a community of African Farmers working to improve farmers’ livelihoods. AFarmers also seeks to address food security throughout the continent by implementing innovative training models that empower farmers by helping them acquire knowledge and grow profits.
Based in Nairobi, Kenya, APHRC is a research institution and think tank with the goal of bringing independent evidence to the forefront of decisions supporting improved growth and development in the region. They are also behind the project Restoring Nairobi to “A Place of Cool Waters, which looks to empower women, scale agroecological farming practices, and create a people-centered food system.
A part of CGIAR, this global organization is delivering research-based solutions that harness the power of agricultural biodiversity. Their work tackles four key challenges: the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and malnutrition.
AFSA brings together African farmers’ organizations, NGO networks, consumer movements in Africa as well as international organizations, and individuals who are committed to promoting food sovereignty and agroecology in Africa. AFSA was also part of a group that requested that USAID redirect funds to agroecology, rather than continue to support the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). “Africa is not a monoculture,” writes Million Belay, General Coordinator for AFSA, “and we do not want it to become one.”
Ardi Ardak—which translates to my land, your land in Arabic—is a grassroots national food security initiative working to revive the Lebanese food system through projects that foster agricultural self-sufficiency. The initiative is a collaboration among The Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese League for Women in Business, the Food Heritage Foundation, and Zico House.
The AFA initiative brings together small-scale farmers, fishers, Indigenous peoples, forest users, herders, and pastoralists in rural Asia. AFA seeks to empower these stakeholders, by promoting land tenure rights, diversifying farming systems and practices, building and strengthening family farmers’ cooperatives and their enterprises, and advocating for equitable treatment of producers. The Association also works with youth to build interest and skills around sustainable, resilient agriculture.
Big Green, started by chef, restaurateur, and advocate Kimbal Musk offers educational resources, grants, and more to encourage people to grow food. “Planting a seed is an act of hope for a brighter tomorrow,”says Musk. Big Green DAO, one of his latest initiatives, is a nonprofit led decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which is designed to democratize and decentralize grantmaking for food and gardening organizations in the U.S.
The goal of the Beans Is How campaign is to show how increasing bean consumption around the world can contribute to a healthier, fairer, more resilient food system and help achieve SDG2, which aims to end hunger in all its forms by 2030. “If we collectively focus on this one product that we know is good for us, we can really make a difference,” says Sam Kass, former White House Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition as well as a Bean Champion for the Campaign. BiH hopes to double global bean consumption by 2028.
10. Better Soil, Better Lives, sub-Saharan Africa
The Better Soils, Better Lives initiative, started by Roland Bunch, was founded to address the worsening droughts caused by the deterioration of soil quality. They hope to double the agricultural productivity of 70 percent of sub-Saharan farmers in 20 years. Bunch promotes the use of green manure/cover crops to restore soil health and increase yields, even during periods of drought.
A community investment fund that aggregates and redistributes the wealth of social impact investors, Black Farmers Fund provides grants and loans to Black farmers and food businesses in New York. Their goal is to build resilient Black food economies. Through this work, the Fund seeks to repair Black communities’ relationships with food. “Black Farmer Fund seeks to provide an alternative way for community-driven Black farmers and food businesses in New York to access capital that is non-extractive, culturally-relevant, and governed by other Black farmers and food business owners,” says Olivia Watkins, President of the Fund.
The BFA was launched in 2019 to bring blue foods to the forefront of policy discussions at the 2021 U.N. Food Systems Summit. They are a joint initiative of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Center for Ocean Solutions and Center on Food Security and the Environment at Stanford University and EAT. Healthy marine ecosystems are “a vital part of meeting the goals for nutrition, food security, livelihoods, and justice” across the broader food system, says Jim Leape, Co-Director of Stanford’s Center for Ocean Solutions.
Brave Noise is a global collaborative effort to provide inclusive and safe environments for everyone in the beer industry. They currently work with more than 275 breweries in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S., and the UK as well as homebrewers. They are also in the process of involving beer drinkers and bars. Originally launched as a short-term project, they are continuing to expand the scope of their work. “The only way to move forward and to create real change,” Brave Noise Co-Founder Brienne Allan says, “is by bringing in more women, non-binary, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ into leadership and decision-making roles.”
The faith-based organization Bread for the World calls on U.S. policymakers to end hunger. Guided by Christian values, they believe that it is essential to speak out and encourage the government to take action. They are also behind the Alliance to End Hunger, which they established in 2021 to bring together secular and faith organizations to promote food security.
CFJC is working to build a more equitable food system by centering the leadership of farmers of color and challenging the forces of racism and other forms of oppression. In 2017, CFJC advocated for and helped pass the Farmer Equity Act, adding a definition of a Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher to the California Food and Agriculture Code.
CIFOR-ICRAF is a research institute that brings together governments, academia, civil society, and private companies to address deforestation and biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, unsustainable food systems, unsustainable supply and value chains, and extreme inequality. The institute also works to build more sustainable supply and value chains and address extreme inequality.
The Chef Ann Foundation is committed to helping schools around the country serve nutritious meals to their students. Through their Get Schools Cooking program—a three-year program that helps schools transition from a heat-and-serve operation to scratch-cooked meals—the nonprofit has reached 241 schools and 75,788 children. They have also worked with the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leadership Council to expand culturally-relevant meals in schools for Native students.
Cooking for Salud is a bilingual English and Spanish nutrition education and behavior modification program. Part of the California-based Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center, the program teaches participants how to make changes at home that will improve their families’ health outcomes. Once women finish the program, they become known as Kitchenistas and actively engage with their community to promote healthy, sustainable food systems.
By helping farmers cope with the changing climate, Crop Trust is on a mission to ensure food and nutrition security. Crop Trust was established in 2004 by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and Bioversity International on behalf of the CGIAR, with the goal of sustainably supporting a global system for the conservation and use of crop diversity.
“The industrial, capitalist food system has created more food on planet Earth than ever before,” says Dr. Rupa Marya, a physician, author, and the Executive Director of the Deep Medicine Circle, “and there are more people going hungry than ever before.” The Deep Medicine Circle is led by a collective of women of color. They work to repair the harms committed by colonialism through food, medicine, stories, restoration, and learning. This work includes restoring relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and returning land to Indigenous peoples.
The field of dietetics is predominantly white. Diversify Dietetics is working to change that by bringing together students, professionals, and educators who are committed to creating opportunities to encourage a more diverse field of dietetics and nutrition. They do this through scholarships and grants, mentorship programs, application support, and educational resources.
Based in Washington D.C., Dreaming Out Loud is an urban farm established in 2009 by Christopher Bradshaw. The farm works to build racial and economic justice in the nation’s capital by uplifting Black farmers and entrepreneurs in the food industry. The organization sees the food system as a powerful tool of resistance, resilience, and advocacy for structural change.
Formed in 2014 as a community-led effort to promote food systems transformation and climate adaptation, the Drylands FRN is part of the McKnight Foundation’s global Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP). The team adopted integrated Gully Rehabilitation Trusts (GRTs), a group of 385 households spread across five soil and water conservation groups, to address gully erosion.
EAT is a global nonprofit and science-based global platform working toward food system transformation. They regularly organize events and have cultivated partnerships with a range of foundations, academic institutions, organizations and companies that provide strategic advice, knowledge, and financial support. They are also a convener of the Good Food Finance Network.
Founded in 2016, the Ecdysis Foundation seeks to apply science to highlight issues within the current food system and build more sustainable and regenerative systems. Through the 1,000 Farms Initiative, the Foundation is working to promote regenerative agriculture systems on farms throughout the U.S. “We need to be there for producers that are interested in changing,” says Jonathan Lundgren, Director of the Foundation.
EDF brings together over 1,000 scientists and lawyers with the goal of protecting the environment. In 28 countries the Fund works on issues that range from overfishing and food contaminants to pollution from the oil and gas industry. Through strategic partnerships, scientific and economic research, and advocacy, EDF is committed to strengthening laws and policies that protect the environment and improve public health.
Founded in 2018 and based in Brussels, FEBA is a nonprofit organization operating in Europe that seeks to prevent food waste and assist people who are food insecure. FEBA works with 330 food banks in 29 countries throughout Europe. In response to the war in Ukraine, they played a critical role in recovering and delivering food and personal hygiene products throughout Ukraine and in nearby countries including Hungary, Moldova, Poland, and Romania.
FAIRR is an investor network that targets Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks in the global food sector. They take three approaches to this work: a protein producer index, a sustainable proteins hub, and a climate risk tool. Thanks in part to their advocacy work, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization recently announced that they will develop a plan to address greenhouse gas emissions associated with food and agriculture systems.
A farm worker labor union, FLOC came to life under the leadership of Baldemar Velásquez. What began as a small group of farm workers in northwest Ohio has since grown to include thousands of workers around the country. They believe that farm workers need a voice in the decisions that affect them, and all parties should be brought to the table to address industry wide problems. “Many of you are involved in advocacy groups but you need to partner with groups that are the recipients of your support.” Velaszques says, “Because they need to get up and rise up and start demanding these things for themselves.”
The Farmers Market Coalition works to strengthen farmers markets in the U.S. to benefit farmers, consumers, and communities. The Coalition recently worked with Black food systems leaders to release an anti-racism toolkit intended to help market managers make their spaces more welcoming to all.
Fed By Blue seeks to highlight the importance of blue foods in a sustainable food system. They believe that blue foods are critical to addressing nutrition equity, protecting oceans and waterways, improving biodiversity, and boosting the productivity of fisheries, while mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis. “Worldwide demand for fish is increasing every year…We simply need to be smarter about the way we use this resource,”writes Jennifer Bushman, Co-Founder of Fed By Blue. “The oceans have an incredible way of rebounding when balanced fishery and aquaculture management is put in place.”
In New York City, FIG wants to transform food systems through knowledge sharing and mutual aid. They deliver fresh produce to community members, run a study group, and operate farm field trips. In 2023, they plan to launch culinary workshops in partnership with two local organizations, Black Trans Liberation (BTL) and TG.
Through direct financial grants, technical assistance and training, and advocacy, the First Nations Development Institute aims to improve economic conditions for Native Americans. Specific programs include providing access to nourishing native foods and providing financial and technical assistance to support Native ecological land stewardship.
Food 4 Farmers supports coffee-growing communities in Latin America by helping them strengthen food systems, promote sustainable farming practices, diversify livelihoods, and cultivate local leadership. To date, the organization has secured a 41 percent increase in income among beekeepers in Mexico. They have also addressed 40 percent of the food security gap in Nicaragua and achieved a 30 percent reduction in months of food insecurity experienced in Colombia.
FOLU is a global coalition that takes an evidence-based approach to food systems change, while incorporating diverse opinions and approaches. By building platforms that support research analysis and develop tools for stakeholders, FOLU empowers people to change their food systems on the ground.
The Food Chain Workers Alliance advocates for better working conditions, documentation status, and pay for workers across the food chain, with the goal of building a more equitable food system for workers. The Alliance works with 34 members who represent over 375,000 food workers in the U.S. and Canada.
Food Recovery Network is a student-led movement that fights waste on college campuses to combat food insecurity across the country. Founded in 2011 by four students at the University of Maryland, the Network now operates on 187 campuses in 46 states. Since its start, they have recovered more than 494,000 kilograms of food and donated 9 million meals.
FRAC is working to improve the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the U.S. They do this through advocacy, strategic partnerships, and by working to develop bold policy solutions. Their strategic plan focuses on strengthening federal nutrition programs, maximizing available benefits, addressing racial inequities, reducing poverty and addressing other root causes of hunger, and supporting their national network of advocates.
Founded by Ertharin Cousin, FSF’s mission is to address malnutrition in underserved and low-income communities. In addition to working with Black and Latinx communities in the U.S., FSF also operates in sub-Saharan Africa. They invest in and provide market-driven food and agriculture enterprises to sustainably, and profitably improve nutrition outcomes.
FoodPrint helps guide consumers who want to make environmentally responsible choices in their food purchasing. They provide a range of resources on how to cook, shop, and dine out sustainably, as well as suggestions on how to grow food and compost. They also provide reports on the footprints of sectors including alternative meat, aquaculture, and pork.
Founded by Amy Wu and led by a group of women entrepreneurs, From Farm to Incubators highlights the stories of women innovators, especially women of color, in agricultural technology. They highlight stories through books, film, and portraits. They have also developed an online directory of notable innovators in agritech.
FromSoil2Soul recognizes that the rate of burnout in the U.S. is creeping upward and seeks to address this by reconnecting people with the Earth. Taking an ecotherapy approach, the organization’s courses teach participants about gardening, food preservation, herbal remedies, seeds, and composting.
GAIN works to advance nutrition outcomes by improving the consumption of safe, nutritious food. Their programs help to carry out large scale food fortification, support small- and medium-sized enterprises, shape markets to encourage healthy and sustainable diets, and more. They also helped to establish the Initiative on Nutrition and Climate Change (I-CAN), which aims to accelerate transformative action at the intersection of climate and nutrition. “Climate and health go together; nutrition is a really important bridge between the two. We need to bring these two worlds together,” Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director for GAIN tells Food Tank.
Guided by seven key principles, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food brings together philanthropic foundations committed to transforming global food and agriculture systems. To accomplish this, the Alliance develops research and tools to support food systems change, convenes key stakeholders, and connects global and local knowledge systems.
An international nonprofit working to address hunger on a global scale, the Global FoodBanking Network works in over 40 countries. The organization partners with food banks, many of which are implementing new models of food distribution that are mindful of clients’ agency and dignity. These local organizations are encouraging knowledge sharing, promoting food safety, and building capacity in the fight to end hunger.
The Global Seafood Alliance strives to advance responsible seafood practices around the world. In addition to engaging in education and advocacy, the Alliance is also behind the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Best Seafood Practices (BSP) certification programs. These certifications help consumers choose seafood products that are better for both people and the environment.
Building on the outcomes of the finance lever of the U.N. Food Systems Summit, the GFFN serves as a platform for finance leaders to advance food systems transformation. “Too often we look at the policies that are necessary, the government interventions that are required without looking at the investments that are required from the private sector,” says Erthartin Cousin, CEO and Founder of Food Systems for the Future, one of the conveners of the Network. The GFFN aims to develop commitments from financial institutions, governments, and the private sector to drive action.
A special fund under the China Biodiversity Conservation and the Green Development Foundation, GFF focuses on facilitating a shift in food production, distribution, and consumption patterns. GFF Is behind a vision that aims to increase the diversity of foods available to Beijing residents, develop community-based markets that are entirely plant-based, and develop a Good Food Hub within every market to ensure food access.
According to the U.N. global meat consumption is projected to double by 2050. The Good Food Institute hopes to change this by encouraging eaters to rethink consumption patterns and adopt more protein alternatives. They do this through knowledge sharing, policy advocacy, and finding market opportunities for these products.
The youth-led Green Africa youth Organization hopes to provide solutions to pressing environmental issues through youth empowerment, skills development, and education. Their Sustainable Community Project in Ghana is the first community-led, circular economy waste management project in the country.
Chefs Tonya and David Thomas created H3irloom Food Group to honor and uplift the Black food narrative. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the 100 percent Black-owned company uses their catering, pop ups, and other dining experiences to educate others about the story behind their meals and promote sustainability. “Maryland has an incredibly rich history…in food, in agriculture, and we want to make sure that we acknowledge that,” says David Thomas.
Based in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City, this nonprofit organization brings hands-on education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition to youth. Harlem Grown’s mission is to inspire the next generation to lead healthy lives. They currently have more than a dozen urban agricultural facilities, ranging from hydroponic greenhouses to soil-based farms.
The FLPC provides students with hands-on experience in food law and policy with the goal of addressing the health, environmental, and economic impacts of the food system. Together with the Global FoodBanking Network, they are developing the Global Food Donation Policy Atlas, which examines country-specific food donation laws and provides recommendations to strengthen food recovery efforts.
Founded by WeightWatchers International, the Healthy Living Coalition brings together companies and nonprofits working to break down barriers to nutrition security. Thanks in part to the advocacy efforts of the Coalition and their partners, Congress successfully passed the Food Donation Improvement Act, a piece of legislation that will make it easier for businesses to redirect surplus food to those in need.
Operating from the belief that food is a powerful tool of connection, HEAL Food Alliance is working to build a more sustainable and equitable food system. The coalition is composed of 55 organizations dedicated to changing the current extractive model of food and farming systems. HEAL’s School of Political Leadership, a six-month program, supports the development of food and farm justice leaders. “Our food system is rooted in slavery and rooted in systemic racism,” Jose Oliva, Campaigns Director for HEAL, tells Food Tank, “and that leads to this devaluement of the work itself.”
Through research, policy analysis, and education, Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center seeks to prevent diet-related illnesses and promote food security in New York City and other urban areas. The Center also promotes food justice and advocates for food policy change in NYC and other urban areas.
Founded in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRC launched to keep independent bars and restaurants afloat. The group believes that by coming together to advocate for the needs of small businesses, they will be able to affect legislation change. While the Coalition currently focuses on securing relief for restaurants, chef Andrew Zimmern says they eventually hope to expand their impact through new projects.
A Brazilian NGO, Instituto Ouro Verde is committed to protecting the environment and improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in deforested areas. The Institute launched a digital AmazonPasto platform that helps users access and share information about species that are beneficial for silvo-pastoral agriculture systems.
With member states throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, IICA has four strategic objectives. They strive to increase the contributions of the agricultural sector to develop economic growth and sustainable development; support the wellbeing of rural communities, improve international and regional trade for countries in the region, and increase the resilience of rural areas and agri-food systems.
Based in the United Arab Emirates, ICBA works in more than 40 countries to develop agricultural solutions in regions facing biophysical and socioeconomic constraints. These areas face challenges including low soil fertility, water scarcity, steep terrain, and restrictive land tenure. ICBA combines the use of high and low technologies with education and capacity building to support local food production.
IFAD invests in rural people to increase their food security, improve nutrition, and support their livelihoods. They see small-scale agriculture as central to their development model and seek to connect farmers, and poor communities to markets and services. Since they began their work in 1978, IFAD’s projects have reached an estimated 518 million people. “Giving women access to finance to obtain high-quality inputs and training to improve agronomic practices, will not only create opportunities for women to increase production, processing, and sales but also improve household level dietary diversity and nutrition,” Phillip Baumgartner, Country Director for Lesotho at IFAD, tells Food Tank.
Since 2015, IPES-Food has brought together an international group of researchers to inform the debate on global food systems reform. Their recent reports cover topics including competing frameworks of food systems models, the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global food prices, and the politics of protein. “Getting food systems on the global agenda isn’t enough,” authors of the recent “Smoke & Mirrors” report write. “We must ensure inclusive global processes based on a shared understanding of food system transformation and a comprehensive (socially and environmentally) sustainable food system vision.”
Founded as a nonprofit in 1982, IFANCA is a third-party halal certifying body dedicated to addressing food and health security in the Muslim community and beyond. As part of their work to fight food insecurity, the Council works with schools and colleges around the country to help expand access to halal options for students. They also advocate for policy change at the local, state, and national level.
The James Beard Foundation works to celebrate American food culture while pushing for new and better standards in the restaurant industry to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The organization recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of their Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change, which helps chefs to advocate for better food systems.
Operating out of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Center for a Livable Future has worked for 25 years to change food systems and protect the public’s health. Their issue areas include food systems and urbanization, strengthening food system resilience, reducing food waste, food equity, food animal production, and food policy and governance.
A volunteer-run political collective, Justicia for Migrant Workers promotes the rights of migrant farm workers and farm workers without formal immigration status in Canada. They create spaces where workers can organize and have their concerns heard without losing work or putting themselves at risk for deportation.
To help cultivate the next generation of food systems champions, the Kitchen Connection Alliance offers events, provides educational materials, and encourages in-person advocacy. With support from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, they recently released The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet. The cookbook features recipes from 75 farmers, chefs, activists that celebrate diversity and sustainability. “The culinary world has a tremendous power to break down barriers and bring us all to the table,” the Alliance’s Founder Earlene Cruz tells Food Tank. “Once we’re together, these vehicles are powerful tools to help us change our world for the better.”
An organic farm cooperative in El Salvador, La Canasta Campesina wants to address the country’s aging farmer population by encouraging young people to pursue careers in agriculture. Their training programs, workshops, and scholarships provide youth with opportunities to develop their skills and leadership abilities and advance their education.
La Via Campesina is an international movement fighting for peasant’s rights, food sovereignty, land, climate and environmental justice, and a way of living beyond capitalism. La Via Campesina works with 182 organizations in 81 countries, and with over 200 million peasants around the world.
The Lagos Food Bank Initiative is the largest hunger relief nonprofit in Nigeria. They recently collaborated with the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and Global FoodBanking Network to develop recommendations to help Nigeria simultaneously reduce hunger and cut food loss and waste.
By adopting nature-positive practices, olive producers participating in the Olivares Vivos project have the potential to increase biodiversity and farmers’ profits. The project was part of Europe’s LIFE Programme and is coordinated by the nonprofit SEO Birdlife. As a result of the regenerative agricultural practices implemented on olive groves, bee populations increased by 47 percent and the number of species of woody plants increased by 172 percent.
In East Cleveland, Ohio, Loiter wants to develop successful, community-owned businesses. The nonprofit, started by chef and food waste warrior Ismail Samad, provides local residents with the resources needed to embark on an entrepreneurial path. “There’s so much untapped talent in this community, there are so many undervalued resources,” says Samad. Since launching their first phase, the nonprofit has brought food trucks and pop-up shops to Loiter’s premises.
A village and agricultural cooperative in Costa Rica, Longo Maï, defends the land and water for its local community. More than half of the village’s land is designated as a wildlife refuge, while residents use the other half to cultivate crops for their consumption. They are also organizing to protect their land from the expansion of pineapple plantations.
Youth4Climate, a global initiative empowering young leaders, created the MENA Youth Network to bring together youth from the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. By uniting advocates, they are fighting for a greener world that better serves both people and the planet.
A program of the Milken Institute, Feeding Change focuses on improving nutrition, increasing equity, and promoting sustainability in the food system. They bring together global CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists, policymakers, and academics to host conversations around innovations that can accelerate action. Their Food Is Medicine (FIM) Task Force leverages research and thought leadership to promote nutritional security, integrate FIM into policy and finance, and catalyze food systems change.
An agricultural policy think tank, the MwAPATA Institute engages with government leaders, the private sector, and civil society actors to support policy analysis, outreach, and coordination as well as capacity building. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Institute released a policy brief that recommended actions the Malawian government should take to mitigate the impact of supply chain shocks and outlined opportunities for growth.
Representing urban and rural farmers across the U.S., the NBFJA is working on protecting Black-owned land and advancing Black food sovereignty. The coalition recently announced the launch of the Lola Hampton-Frank Pinder Agroecology Center in Florida, which will support the training and education of Black farmers.
The NYFC is working to empower a new generation of farmers. “The next generation in agriculture needs federal policy support to keep growing healthy food for their communities through a pandemic, and to access the land, water, and other essentials they need to survive in this challenging industry,” says Policy Campaigns Co-Director for NYFC Vanessa Garcia Polanco. The organization recently released the results of the latest National Young Farmer Survey, which finds that young farmers are motivated by environmental conservation and social justice, yet still face major barriers including student loan debt and land access.
To help encourage a new generation of farmers, Niman Ranch created the Niman Ranch Next Generation Foundation. Through grants that help the children of farmers and ranchers further their education, the Foundation is working to help young people enter careers in agriculture.
This grassroots network envisions a food system for Ohio that is sustainable, healthy, equitable, resilient, and accessible. Their policy agenda focuses on four areas: local farms, access and education, infrastructure, and institutions that can create and expand markets for local foods. The Network helped to organize the official North America Celebration for World Food Day 2022 alongside The Ohio State University, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, U.N. Environment Programme, and Food Tank.
One Step Closer is a community of businesses taking action to build a more regenerative world. They launched their Zero Waste Campaign in 2022 to raise awareness of the need to eliminate single use plastics from products and their OSC Packaging Collaborative focuses on compostable packaging solutions.
A nonprofit communications and advocacy organization, Plastic Pollution Coalition collaborates with organizations, businesses, and individuals from around the world. Their mission is to create a more just, equitable, and regenerative world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts. One way they hope to do this is by removing single use plastics from movies and television shows. “How much can we pull so that we’re not consistently normalizing plastic pollution and plastic waste on the screen?” asks actress and activist Alysia Reiner.
Project Drawdown serves as a leading resource for climate solutions, identifying strategies to reduce global levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Their Solutions Library outlines resources for a variety of sectors, including food, agriculture, and land use. They encourage stakeholders in the sector to address waste and diets, protect ecosystems, and shift agriculture practices to build a more sustainable world.
By 2040, the food awareness organization ProVeg hopes to reduce the global consumption of animals by 50 percent. They have received the U.N.’s Momentum for Change Award and at U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) served as a key organizer of the Food4Climate Pavilion. Listen to Raphael Podselver of ProVeg discuss their work here.
By bringing together a collective of queer folks engaged throughout the food system, QFF serves as a resource and platform – while also promoting, protecting, and funding food spaces for LGBTQAI+ communities. As part of this work, the Foundation is committed to increasing representation of queer folks in discussions about food systems and the food industry. “We want to start bringing people together in person,” QFF Founding Board Member Vanessa Parish says. “[We want to go to] different states, regions, and cities with events around the country so that people can meet and support right in their local communities.”
Re:wild brings together Indigenous peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nonprofits, governments, companies, and the public, to protect biodiversity. This includes working on Indigenous land rights, addressing wildlife crime, and restoring ecosystems in several key biodiversity regions around the world. To this end, they partner with college students to help them reimagine their campuses with a focus on climate resilience.
ReFED works to end food loss and waste from across the U.S. food system using data-driven solutions. In the last year, they have relaunched a digital database to monitor policies pertaining to food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling and introduced a new tool to track capital investments in food waste reduction. “While we still have a long way to go in terms of reaching food waste reduction goals,” says Alejandro Enamorado Capital, Innovation & Engagement Manager at ReFED, “we’re starting to see progress… [and] we’re excited by what we’re seeing.”
The nonprofit Kiss the Ground launched Regenerate America to include more resources for regenerative agriculture in the 2023 Farm Bill. Through the widespread adoption of these practices, this coalition of farmers, businesses, and nonprofits believes that it’s possible to improve food and water security while strengthening climate resilience.
reNature is on a mission to support and scale regenerative agriculture around the globe. Projects range from developing an agroforestry educational center in Arpen, Mexico to scaling agroecological practices on a community plot in Khetee, India. In 2022, they launched their 2% for the Planet campaign, which aims to reach 2 percent of the world’s farmers and regenerate 2 percent of all farmland.
By bringing together food, agriculture, and technology experts, the Refresh Working Group advocates for the responsible use of technology and data in the U.S. food system. They help to educate policymakers, advocate for policy changes, and empower those working in agriculture, food, and public health to promote the positive application of data-driven technologies.
The Resilient Cities Network helps its 98 member cities develop holistic resilience by focusing on three priority areas: Climate Resilient Cities, Circular Cities, and Equitable Cities. The Network’s Urban Eats campaign helps cities develop circular food systems that feed all residents while reducing waste.
For more than 50 years, CEFA has worked to help lift rural families out of poverty through sustainable development. Alongside the World Food Programme and Triangle Génération Humanitaire (TGH), CEFA helped launch the world’s first fish farm in a refugee camp in Algeria. The farm was developed to increase access to protein and increase economic autonomy, particularly among local women and youth.
By fostering multi-holder collaboration, the SUN Movement—representing 65 countries—is working to end malnutrition. The Movement looks to scale up and invest in country-specific interventions that address the specific needs of a region. In 2022, they launched their first official youth network in Côte d’Ivoire to engage and mobilize more young people. “I’m always hopeful,” says Gerda Verburg, Coordinator of the SUN Movement, “because being pessimistic is not an option.”
The SDG2 Advocacy Hub brings together NGOs, advocacy groups, civil society, the private sector, and UN agencies to coordinate global campaigning and advocacy. The Hub’s goal is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
SEKEM is a biodynamic farm founded by the late Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish in 1977. SEKEM has since evolved to include a university, school, vocational training center, and medical center. SEKEM’s multiple companies sell produce, herbs and spices, organic textiles, and natural medicines and healthcare products, which are sold throughout Egypt and Europe.
Representing more than 2 million poor, self-employed women workers from the informal economy, SEWA is the largest Central Trade union. Their goal is to help women across 125 trades achieve economic, food, and social security and develop autonomy at the individual and community levels. In the food sector, SEWA is empowering women and supporting their livelihoods by encouraging them to grow and re-incorporate nutrient-rich, traditional foods.
A nonprofit serving the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, SFSI is working to build community-driven food systems grounded in Lakota values. They run a farm, a harvest market, and oversee a foodways project to revive and preserve traditional Lakota food knowledge and practices. “I honestly believe our best days aren’t behind us,” says Matte Wilson, an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Director of SFSI. “They’re ahead of us.”
An Afro-Indigenous centered community farm, Soul Fire Farm seeks to cultivate food sovereignty while dismantling racism and colonialism. By drawing on ancestral knowledge and bringing diverse communities together, Soul Fire Farm provides a space for the next generation of activist-farmers to learn how to care for the earth.
Since 2006, SAAFON has worked in the Southeastern United States to strengthen the collective power of Black farmers striving to build an alternative food system. Through their three-tiered approach, they help meet the needs of individual farmers, activate connections across their network, and drive systems change and movement building.
With the support of Workers United Upstate, Starbucks Workers United has helped over 250 stores unionize to make their workplaces safer and more equitable. “We’re not just fighting for ourselves, we’re fighting for a better working class,” says Nikki Taylor, a member of the Memphis 7—a group of Starbucks employees fired for attempting to form a union. Organizers have called on their employers to provide workers with a voice in setting organization policies, improve health and safety protocols, offer fair wages, and more. Watch members of the Memphis 7 speak about their experience at SXSW 2022 here.
The Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems works to develop innovative ideas and solutions to the challenges facing food and agriculture systems. Their work focuses on issues ranging from water and energy use to the livelihoods of farmers and others working in the sector. In partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians for Pesticide Reform, the Swette Center recently put out a report outlining opportunities to expand organic agriculture through the 2023 Farm Bill. “Expanding organic agriculture is an investment in our future, one that could ultimately produce significant returns,” says Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director for the Swette Center.
Founded by a group of friends at the University of California Los Angeles, Swipe Out Hunger works to address food insecurity among college students. They work by developing on-campus solutions to help students in need access food, scaling their work through community building, and advocating for policy solutions.
Based in Austin, Texas, The Cook’s Nook works to promote and advance food access, equity, security, and sustainability through food and nutrition services. The Cook’s Nook also provides packaged, ready-to-eat meals with the goal of expanding access to affordable, fresh food by providing organizations with healthier choices for their clients and customers.
TNC strives to build a world where people and natural ecosystems thrive. Among their top priorities is sustainably providing food and water to the growing population. TNC is working to achieve this goal through new and better managed protected areas, sustainable fishing, restored working lands, innovative financing, and strategic partnerships.
The Rockefeller Foundation helps to advance more regenerative, nourishing, and equitable food and agriculture systems. Recent investments from the Foundation will support Indigenous and regenerative agriculture and promote access to healthy, sustainable foods. With Media RED, they are also developing “Food 2050,’ a documentary that spotlights visionaries working to transform food systems from the ground up.
The World Vegetable Center aims to alleviate poverty and malnutrition by increasing vegetable harvests, improving consumption of nutritious vegetables, raising incomes for poor households, and creating jobs. A new research initiative developed in partnership with CGIAR and others will help to address low fruit and vegetable consumption in low- and middle-income countries.
By advocating for the introduction of fair prices for meat and dairy products, the TAPP Coalition is working to reduce consumption of these items. They are also a member of the The Carbon Pricing Food Coalition, which introduced the COP27 Climate Agreement on Food and Farming to help steer countries toward climate conscious food goals.
Launched as the first food bank in the United Arab Emirates in 2017, the UAE Food Bank is committed to feeding those in need while eliminating food waste. They collaborate with the public sector as well as local and international charities to collect, store, and distribute fresh food from hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets.
The FoodTech Challenge looks to identify new innovations that can efficiently and sustainably transform food and agriculture practices. In 2023, four winning teams from the most recent competition will share a US$2 million pool as well as opportunities for grants, acceleration support, and more.
UNEP helps to inspire, inform, and enable nations to care for the environment and improve the quality of life for current and future generations. Focusing on the root causes of three crises—climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste—UNEP raises awareness and advocates for effective environmental action.
“I don’t think we value the food enough. We don’t value the soil enough. We don’t value the ecosystems in general enough,” says Zitouni Ould-Dada, Deputy Director in the Climate and Environment Division at the FAO. But the U.N.’s agency on food and agriculture wants to change this. Their efforts focus on improving food access to ensure that everyone can lead active, healthy lives. Their new strategic framework, spanning from 2022-2031, prioritizes better food production and nutrition to ensure everyone has access to healthy, sustainably grown food; a better environment to protect ecosystems in the face of the climate crisis; and a better life by reducing inequalities.
The U.N. Global Compact is a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement sustainability goals. Their Ocean Stewardship Coalition helps the global business community take action to ensure a healthy ocean. Alongside Startup Portugal and Envisible, they recently launched a new U.N. Accelerator Network, which will serve as an innovation hub for the Coalition.
The world’s largest humanitarian organization, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) works in more than 80 countries to bring food to those in need. With 828 million people in the world going hungry and hunger rates on the rise, WFP continues to respond to the conflict, climate shocks, and economic instability driving food insecurity.
An alliance of food-focused groups in the U.S., the USFSA works to end poverty, rebuild local food economies, and implement democratic control over the country’s food and agriculture system. They award the annual Food Sovereignty Prize, which went to Food Sovereignty Ghana and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) in 2022.
By upcycling food—or developing products from ingredients not typically consumed by humans—companies have an increasing opportunity to prevent food waste. With members based around the world, the UFA works to attract investment in the upcycled industry, improve the network of upcycled businesses, improve the upcycled supply chain, and increase consumer demand for upcycled products.
CORAF is Africa’s largest sub-regional organization, coordinating agricultural research and development in West and Central Africa. CORAF partners with ASARECA (Association for strengthening agricultural research in Eastern and central Africa), CCARDESA (Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa) and NASRO (North African Sub-Regional Research Organization) to achieve food and nutrition security.
WANDA is a nonprofit that seeks to empower women and girls of African descent and call upon ancestral knowledge to address racial and gender inequalities in the food system. Their initiatives include a fund to support what WANDA calls “food sheroes,” and Sisterhood Suppers. In 2022, they also launched a petition to support a Food Bill of Rights to ensure food policies are aligned with national values. “Democracy means full participation in the shaping and making of food policy that influences how we operate within the system,” says WANDA’s Founder and CEO Tambra Raye Stevenson.
A global female leadership movement that is committed to enacting social justice, WGI advances gender equity and youth development agendas. WGI helps girls attend and stay in school so they can pursue higher education. The organization also empowers mothers to become financially independent by helping them develop new skills and knowledge.
WorldFish is a research and innovation organization focusing on the role that aquatic foods play in supporting the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of women, men, and children. Their work focuses on six intersecting themes: nutrition, gender, climate, sustainability, economy, and COVID-19.
Chef and activist Jose Andres founded World Central Kitchen to provide meals to people affected by humanitarian, climate, and community crises. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, WCK was among the first organizations to mobilize chefs and feed those fleeing violence. “I’ve been blown away by the beauty of humanity,” says Chef Marc Murphy, who was one of the first chefs to join WCK’s work in Ukraine.
The World Food Prize works to highlight solutions that increase the quality and quantity of available food. Each year, the Foundation awards the World Food Prize to an individual that has made significant contributions to advance food and nutrition security. The 2022 World Food Prize Laureate was Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, whose work investigates the relationship between climate and food systems.
WWF works to help local communities conserve natural resources. Their food systems work focuses on helping communities produce and consume food in a way that benefits a thriving planet and global population. One of WWF’s most recent reports provides a framework to transform food and agriculture systems.
Zero Hour is a youth-led movement helping young activists drive change and address the climate crisis. Setting 2040 as the transition to achieve a just transition, they argue that climate action requires urgent attention.
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An African American man has gone online to cry out for help because his wife kicked him out of the house for refusing to adopt her kids.
She threw his belongings out of the house because he declined to file the paper work to legally adopt her kids from past relationship.
He shared a video showing the moment she was packing his clothes out of the house and he protested but she refused to listen to his pleas.
The frustrated man said he will not give into her request because she wants to use it as an avenue to take his money.
In the video, she could be seen moving into and out of the room carrying his clothes gradually, but he aid he will not touch any of them because she will buy new ones for him.
2022 was a year of renewed confidence in the African Development Bank Group. Contributing countries mobilized and contributed $8.9 billion to replenish the African Development Fund under ADF-16. Furthermore, they acceded to the request of the Bank Group’s Senior Management to create a Special Climate Action Window under ADF-16.
Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the Swiss Confederation, Germany, and the Global Energy Alliance are providing significant financial support to the Bank to finance sectors vital to development. Whether it is to boost renewable energies, fight climate change, promote the Lusophone Pact or develop the agricultural sector, their commitment has been exceptional, thus testifying to the shareholders’ increased confidence in the Bank’s efforts to foster the continent’s development.
For its part, the Board of Executive Directors, led by the Bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, took seriously the looming threat of food and social crises in African countries in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Board swiftly set up a $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility, and in less than two weeks, deployed $1.3 billion for this purpose. This year has also allowed Dr. Adesina to witness the impact of the Bank’s work on the ground. He paid working visits to several countries across the continent; Morocco, Cabo Verde, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Mauritania, among others, where he saw at first hand the results of the Bank’s life-changing intervention in these countries and, above all, on the beneficiary populations.
Below is a snapshot of the African Development Bank Group’s work in 2022.
January
African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina visited the $19.5 billion Dangote Industries Limited Crude Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Production Plant in Lagos, Nigeria.
In Senegal, President Adesina was received by the Head of State, Macky Sall. Dr. Adesina visited Bank-financed projects such as the Dakar-Diamniadio regional express train. He announced support for the Louis Pasteur Referral Laboratory, which will soon start producing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for Covid-19 and other diseases.
February
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved $379.6 million in funding for the Desert to Power Facility for G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger).
African Development Bank Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, joins Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the official launch of the construction of the historic Dodoma City Outer Ring Road Project.
March
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved a new strategy to address fragility and build resilience in Africa for the period 2022-2026. The strategy proposes a five-year roadmap for building more resilient institutions, economies, and societies across the continent.
American basketball giant and eight-time NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo, and the African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, accompanied by former legendary Ivorian football team captain, Didier Drogba, inaugurated a first-class sports facility for young orphans in Bingerville, Côte d’Ivoire
April
President Akinwumi Adesina visited the United Arab Emirates. Several commitments were made in Dubai and Abu Dhabi during the three-day visit.
The African Development Bank Group signed a Protocol Agreement with the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to support the implementation of the Pan-African Organization’s Agenda 2063.
May
The African Development Fund, the concessional window of the Bank Group, marked the milestone of 50 years of actions and achievements in Africa’s most fragile countries. Organized within the framework of the Group’s Annual Meetings, the occasion brought together beneficiaries and donors to discuss the Fund’s impact and performance.
The Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings took place in Accra, Ghana, on the theme: “Fostering Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition in Africa”.
In Abidjan, the Bank Group’s Board of Directors approved the creation of the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis that could result from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
June
U.S. President Joe Biden announced support for the African Development Bank’s initiative to significantly increase food production in Africa to avert the looming food crisis which could result from the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Bank’s Board of Directors endorsed the creation of the African Foundation for Pharmaceutical Technology. This ground-breaking organization will significantly expand Africa’s access to the technologies underpinning the manufacture of medicines, vaccines, and other pharmaceutical products.
The African Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank signed a pact to enhance their collaboration.
July
Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina reassured U.S. investors gathered in Marrakech for the U.S.-Africa Business Summit: “Africa is a safe, competitive and profitable market.”
The global credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, confirmed African Development Bank’s “AAA” long-term credit rating with a stable outlook. This affirmation represented a recognition of the Bank’s strong financial profile and the tremendous support of its shareholders.
Publish What You Fund, the global aid transparency organization, recognized the African Development Bank as the most transparent organization in the world.
The Bank’s Board of Directors approved a loan of EUR 121 million to Senegal to implement an emergency agricultural program for 850,000 small-scale producers. It was the first approval under the deployment of the African Emergency Food Production Facility.
August
Japan and the African Development Bank announced financial cooperation, which could reach $5 billion, under the 5th phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative in Africa, for 2023-2025. They made the announcement in Tunis on the sidelines of the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8).
The largest U.S. organization of African-American journalists and media professionals honored the African Development Bank with the Salute to Excellence Award for its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative.
September
The Egyptian government and the African Development Bank Group signed a Protocol Agreement to Host the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in May 2023.
The African Development Bank, rated “AAA” by the world’s leading rating agencies (Moody’s, S&P, Fitch and Japan Credit Rating) with a stable outlook, issued a $100 million thematic bond maturing in September 2029.
Nigeria’s Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, and the African Development Bank Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, while in New York, urged global businesses and policymakers to invest in Nigeria.
Bank Group President Adesina undertook an official visit to Mauritania to “give a new impetus” to the Bank’s partnership with the country: “We stand by Mauritania to accelerate the increase in capacity and range of its productive sectors such as wheat, red meat, fisheries and mining.”
October
The African Development Bank and its partners launched Nigeria’s $520 million Special Agri-business Processing Zones Programme. The initiative will help modernize agriculture and develop agri-business in the most populous African country. Eleven countries across Africa are implementing the program.
On the occasion of the Finance in Common Summit, organized in Abidjan, the first time in Africa, five new public development banks – the Development Bank of Latin America, the Development Bank of Rwanda, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti – Italian Investment Bank, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and the Netherlands Development Finance Corporation – signed the Paris Declaration on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina was named “African Man of the Year 2022” by Exclusive Men of the Year, recognizing his leadership and vision at the helm of the Bank, in addition to his outstanding commitment to Africa during his tenure as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture.
November
Published by the African Development Bank, the African Union and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Africa Industrialization Index report showed that 37 of the 52 African countries increased their level of industrialization over the past 11 years.
At COP-27 in Egypt, Germany pledged EUR 40 million to the Bank’s Climate Action Window for fragile African States.
The Africa Investment Forum’s “Market Days” – the continent’s leading investment platform – catalyzed $31 billion of interest from African and international investors.
December
After a year of intense negotiations amid a challenging global economic outlook, the African Development Fund’s development partners agreed to commit a total of $8.9 billion for its 2023-2025 financing cycle. The pledged amount is the largest replenishment in the Fund’s history.
<!–/–><![CDATA[/ ><!–/ <!–/–><![CDATA[/* ><!–/ .field-name-body h2 { border-bottom: 2px solid #01884c; width: 98%; color: #01884c; font-size: 20px; } /–><!]]]]><![CDATA[>/ /–><!]]>*/ Source African Development Bank Group
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WASHINGTON DC, Dec 21 2022 (IPS) – There are two sides to the problem of Gender Parity at the United Nations.
On the one hand, member states need to appoint more women to their senior ambassadorial ranks. There is always tremendous competition for the post of UN ambassador, especially if a member state is on the UN security Council.
It’s a pipeline question for the member states. To reach that level of seniority, a diplomat has to have the years of service. It will likely take time for countries to have the flow through of women ambassadors. So, the UN Secretary-Genera (SG) is correct in putting the onus on member states to change or accelerate their systems.
That said, there is still a problem within the UN itself.
In the last 5 years, many governments notably the UK, Italy, the Scandinavians have sponsored the regional women’s mediation networks. For example. I’m a member of the Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth (WMC).
The vision was to identify women with the requisite skills and experience in mediation efforts and provide a new pathway into senior UN positions particularly as Envoys and mediation work. In the WMC we have 50 amazingly experienced women from across Commonwealth nations.
Similarly, the Mediterranean Women’s Mediation Network has members from that region. For senior positions, our governments have to support our candidacy, and they have done so.
But the UN system is a blockage, because when it comes to determining eligibility, their criteria still include things like ’15 years of UN experience’. Well, the whole point is that most of us have gained experience outside of the UN bureaucracy or as expert consultants with the UN, but not as UN staff.
We bring a wealth of other valuable expertise, yet the skill and knowledge that outsiders might bring seems of less value to the recruiters, than then traditional institutional knowledge. As a result, the female candidates that member states might endorse, are blocked by the UN.
If they are serious about having more women in the peace and security sector, particularly women with the relevant experience in inclusive and gender responsive peacemaking, security humanitarian work, they need to look for us in civil society. This is where most of the innovation has happened and is happening.
The work being done by women on the ground and lessons sharing that goes on through our networks is invaluable. It is exactly what the UN needs to be more fit for purpose. It is also the path towards actual reform and renovation of the UN architecture and practice.
But it can only happen if the member states and the UN leadership and bureaucracy have the vision, political will and willingness to change their recruitment priorities and practices.
Anyone claiming they can’t find the women, is willfully ignoring the facts.
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE, Founder & CEO, International Civil Society Action Network in Washington DC.
While women have come a long way since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action nearly 25 years ago, they still lag behind on virtually every Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Credit: UN Women, India
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 21 2022 (IPS) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has singled out Gender Parity as one of his key priorities in his second term in office, beginning 2023.
Describing it as “a strategic goal of the Organization,” he pointed out some of the “notable advances achieved in the past five years.”
Gender parity, he said last week, has been reached among the UN’s senior leadership two years ahead of the target date; along with parity among heads and deputy heads of peace operations; as well as parity among the 130 Resident Coordinators.
The number of UN entities, with at least 50 percent women staff, has also risen from five to 26.
But, the Secretary-General added, gaps remain. In the field, “progress has been slow, and in some cases, we have gone backwards”.
“Therefore, the next phase of implementing the Gender Parity Strategy will focus on advancing and sustaining progress in the field.”
He pointed out that gender inequality is essentially a question of power.
“Our male-dominated world and male-dominated culture damage both men and women. And to transform power relations, we need equality between men and women in leadership, decision-making and participation at all levels. “
Still, the 193 member states lag far behind in promoting gender parity and gender empowerment.
There have been nine secretaries-generals over the last 77 years—all men.
Trygve Lie of Norway, Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden, U. Thant of Burma (now Myanmar), Kurt Waldheim of Austria, Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, Kofi Annan of Ghana, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea and, currently, Antonio Guterres of Portugal.
The male-female ratio for the Secretary-General stands at 9 vs zero. And the Presidency of the General Assembly (PGA), the highest policy-making body at the UN, is not far behind either.
The only four women elected as presidents were: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India (1953), Angie Brooks of Liberia (1969), Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of Bahrain (2006) and Maria Fernando Espinosa Garces of Ecuador (2018).
The score stands at 73 men and 4 women as PGAs– even as the General Assembly elected another male candidate, as its 77th President, and who serves his one-year term, beginning September 2022.
The 15-member Security Council’s track record is probably worse because it has continued to elect men as UN Secretaries-General, rubber-stamped by the General Assembly, – despite several outstanding women candidates.
Purnima Mane, a former Deputy Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), with the rank of UN Assistant-Secretary-General (ASG), told IPS the UN Secretary General’s recent remarks on gender empowerment in the UN evoke a mixed reaction.
“While one can certainly celebrate the progress made by the UN in this area, one would also regret the lack of it in many areas that have proven resistant to change. As SG Antonio Guterres stated, gender parity has been achieved for the first time in the UN in 2020 and two years ahead of the target date, to boot”.
The SG gave several examples among senior leadership in the Organization, including Resident Coordinators, where gender parity has grown significantly. But he admitted that gaps remain, and mentioned the slow progress in the field.
However, one of the most difficult areas to change has been one over which the member states exercise control, she noted.
“As many have repeatedly said over the last several years is that there has not been a single woman SG in the history of the UN and only 4 women have been presidents of the General Assembly, the UN’s highest policy-making body, as compared to 73 men.”
To date, it has also been difficult to raise the number of women UN ambassadors, which remains regrettably low. And this despite the significant number of resolutions supporting gender empowerment which have been adopted by the GA and key UN committees, said Mane, a former President and CEO of Pathfinder International.
At the current rate of progress, Guterres said, the Secretariat as a whole is forecast to be close to parity in professional staff in 2025 – three years before the deadline.
“But this aggregate figure disguises the fact that in the field, we are unlikely to reach parity at any level by 2028”.
So, the next phase of implementing the Gender Parity Strategy must therefore focus on advancing and sustaining progress in the field.
He said he was also pleased to see positive changes to support gender parity in the wider working environment.
“I welcome the decision of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) to recommend 16 weeks of parental leave for all parents, and to provide an additional 10 weeks to birth mothers to meet their specific needs.
These recommendations are now under consideration by the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee. “And once again I ask for the support of the members of this group.”
Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director, Women in Global Health (WGH), told IPS: “We applaud the statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres last week — and the progress made within the UN system towards reaching gender parity in leadership.”
“We agree with the Secretary-General that there remain gaps and areas where progress is still lacking. Women in Global Health remains committed to supporting the UN, particularly in the health sector, to achieve equality and leadership in the UN which will be a game changer not only for women but also for achieving the UN‘s mission,” she said.
“We have campaigned for equal leadership for women in global health since we were launched in 2015. Women are 70% health workers but hold only 25% senior leadership roles. So, the issue is not attracting women into the health sector, the issue is addressing the barriers that keep women out of leadership”.
WGH tracks the percentage of women in global governance in health.
“Our data shows that women are seriously underrepresented, especially women from the Global South. It also shows that women have lost ground in health governance since the start of the pandemic”, she declared.
Mane said it is truly regrettable that when it comes to acting on their good intentions and rhetoric on gender empowerment, the member states do not seem to indicate a sense of urgency.
One cannot say that there is lack of global pressure and support to take the necessary steps. For example, before every election of the UN SG over the last several years, the need to seriously consider a woman candidate has been raised by different UN stakeholders, not just civil society, and with every year, this advocacy has grown substantially, she argued.
Having a woman in the role of the SG was raised to a critical level of discussion at the last election of the SG when there were several female candidates who were being considered but business went on as usual.
“We are fortunate to have a strong SG in Guterres and one who values gender parity and empowerment. With the help of continued and heightened advocacy from all quarters, the strong examples of stellar female leadership especially in relation to the efforts to work on the multiple crises the world is facing (including the COVID pandemic and areas like climate change), and the UN’s repeated calls for gender empowerment, a strong case has already been made for the member States to act on areas that are not progressing in gender empowerment within the UN – by electing a woman in the role of the SG, increasing the proportion of women in the role of the President of the General Assembly and building up the number of women UN ambassadors”.
By taking on their own calls for gender empowerment, the member States would thereby show that they are serious about translating the rhetoric of gender empowerment into concrete action, even in areas which have earlier proven difficult to change, she declared.
Meanwhile, A study published in April this year by the WGH network on gender representation in World Health Assemblies (WHA) (from 1948-2021) found that 82.9% of delegations were composed of a majority of men, and no WHA had more than 30% of women Chief Delegates (ranging from 0% to 30%).
At the current rate, some countries may take over 100 years to reach gender parity in their WHA delegations. In January 2022 WGH calculated that only 6% of members of the World Health Organization’s Executive Board were women, down from an all-time high of 32% in 2020 .
WGH’s research in 2020 showed that 85% of national covid-19 task forces had majority male membership. The extraordinary work by women in the pandemic right across the health workforce has not translated into an equal seat at the decision-making table.
WGH has campaigned for senior leadership posts in the UN and other multilaterals in health to have equal representation of women.
To date, eight of the 13 Global Action Plan agencies in health (WHO, International Labour Organization, Global Fund Financing Facility, United Nations Development Programme, Unitaid, Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and World Bank), the most influential in policy and spending, are headed by men from high income countries.
Only one – UNAIDS – is headed by a woman from a low-income country.
“We commend Dr Tedros, Director General of the World Health Organization, for his efforts when he took up office in 2017 to appoint a majority (60 percent) of women to the senior leadership team”, said Dhatt.
