Zambia is among 13 African Union Member States of the 22 that have reported progress on the Continental target for bringing down the proportion of the population that is undernourished to 5 percent or less by the year 2025. Speaking at a press conference in Lusaka today, AU Commissioner for Agriculture Blue Economy Rural Development and Sustainable Development Sophia Sako also indicated that Kenya is the only member state that has met the bench mark for ending hunger by 2025 and that Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, the Gambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe have made noticeable positive progress.
Dr. Sako further stated that only four member states among them Djibouti, Seychelles, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are on target to bringing down the prevalence of stunting on the african continent.
Meanwhile commission of infrastructure and energy Dr Amani Abou-zeid says the challenges imposed by the covid-19 pandemic and the Russia Ukraine crisis on Africa prompted the urgent need for Africa to consider developing its own energy security plan that promotes intra-african trade and encourages increased african oil and gas production.
Speaking at the media briefing at the ongoing going 4th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the african Union, Regional Economic Communities and Region Mechanisms, Dr Abou-zeid said Africa stands ready to tap the opportunities arising from the current global dynamics while working to address the repercussions.
He said swift action is required to facilitate the refining of african crude oil in African refineries and the delivery of petroleum products via pan-african storage and distribution infrastructure such as ports, terminals, maritime, transport, rail in all regions of the continent.
He notes that this will reduce the continent’s dependence on imports in the future.
Dr Abou-zeid stated that ultimate priority is given to developing African’s natural gas sector as this would provide flexible power generation that can anchor large-scale variable renewable energy production through high voltage interconnections in the medium and long term.
