Date: March 15
Time: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm GMT
Event Category: Virtual Event | JOIN VIA ZOOM
African countries have led the charge towards progress in some domains; for instance, in the past decade, Africa has implemented the most reforms promoting gender equality of any region globally. Yet, as in other parts of the world, positive developments have been uneven in Africa. They have left many areas and groups behind.
Now as African countries face the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges have grown more complex and solutions risk eluding those who need them most. The pandemic continues to upend livelihoods, and threatens to push millions more into poverty. As countries work to scale up COVID-19 vaccinations, it is more important than ever to ensure vaccines reach everyone, including vulnerable groups such as women, persons with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples. That is why the World Bank and its partners across Africa prioritize an inclusive recovery from COVID-19.
This event will bring together champions of inclusion for a discussion on the road to achieving a sustainable, resilient—and critically, inclusive—recovery across the African continent. The discussion will feature high-level panelists who will draw on their expertise in public health, jobs, climate, and other correlated challenges to help frame and set a course for meaningful action.
SPEAKERS
Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President, ACET
Mavis joined ACET as Executive Vice President on June 25, 2020, having built a distinguished career over 25 years in international development. Born in Ghana, she is a political economist by training and a private sector development specialist. She previously worked at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), where she led the creation and implementation of DFID's first private sector development strategies in a number of countries.
Bineta Diop, African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security
Bineta Diop took up her position as the African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security in 2014. She is the Founder and President of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), and has led numerous peacebuilding programs, as well as election observer missions. She played a central role in involving women in peace negotiations and served as President of the African Union ECOSOCC Gender Cluster.
Simeon Ehui, Regional Director for Sustainable Development for Africa
Simeon Ehui was appointed Regional Director for Sustainable Development for Africa on July 1, 2019. His main responsibilities, among other things, are to: (1) provide vision, coherence and focus for the sustainable Practice Group in Africa consistent with the regional/country strategies; (2) ensure that regional and country operations are informed by global strategies; (3) deliver the Sustainable Development regional and country engagement programs in Africa and (4) ensure that Corporate commitments at the regional level are achieved.
Maitreyi Bordia Das, Manager, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, World Bank
Maitreyi Bordia Das is Manager in the World Bank's Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice. Based in Washington DC, she works on a set of issues that have to do with reducing inequality and exclusion. She has worked in both human development and infrastructure related areas at the World Bank. Of these, social protection, social development, health, urban development and water and sanitation stand out.
Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder, Leap Africa
Ndidi is a social entrepreneur with over 21 years of experience in International Development and Business Management. She is the Founder of LEAP Africa an organization with a mission to develop dynamic, innovative and principled leaders; Co-Founder of AACE Food Processing and Distribution Ltd., an indigenous agro-processing company that is providing high-quality foods for West Africans while improving the livelihoods of farmers in the region; and a Director at Sahel Capital Partners and Advisory Ltd., an advisory and consulting firm focused on the agribusiness and nutrition sectors in West Africa.
Dimpho Lekgeu, Community Manager, Youth Lab (Moderator)
Dimpho Lekgeu is the community manager at Youth Lab, a policy think tank that works to improve youth capacity and mainstream youth participation in community building and policy making. Through her work as a journalist and media practitioner, she centers the experiences of youth and women in Africa, allowing them to unpack socio-economic issues pertinent to them. In 2018, she was awarded the Leading South Africa Candidate Scholarship to attend the One Young World Summit in the Netherlands.
