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Inter Region Economic Network a Peer-Reviewed Publication The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World is a timely book on Africa, a continent whose strategic position in the nexus of emerging global megatrends and complex development challenges is receiving increased attention. This book is a wellspring of thought-provoking ideas, facts, statistics, philosophical arguments, and scientific reasoning by fourteen authors and thinkers drawn from Africa, the African academic diaspora included. Presenting key lessons for Africa from the COVID-19 global pandemic with the authenticity and alacrity of native experience, the authors share insightful perspectives that all African leaders and decision makers will find invaluable in redirecting the course of Africa’s development to compete on an equal footing with other regions in the post-pandemic world. Wading through the six engrossing sections of this book, you will be enlightened on: Key lessons at the science-policy interface for African leaders on disaster governance, drawn from COVID-19 models and their implications for technological advancement, data integrity, scientific metrics, and civic engagement Post-pandemic perspectives on education and skills development aimed at empowering Africa’s youth agenda and addressing youth unemployment Perspectives on geopolitics and geoeconomics in a post-pandemic Africa Multilateralism and its promises to enable Africa to bargain on an equal footing with the rest of the world Recommended priorities for revamping Africa’s agri-food systems, environmental sustainability, and natural resource management during and after COVID-19 Independent and informed voices on how Africa should reinvent herself to build back better during and after COVID-19 Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) Kenya, INTER REGION ECONOMIC NETWORK Nyaku House, Mezzanine Floor Argwings Kodhek Road, Hurlingham A PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATION P.O. Box 135-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: +254 20 2731497 Edited by NASHON JUMA ADERO and JOSEPHAT JUMA ABOUT THE IREN BOOK PROJECT The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World is a signature book project of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN), a private think tank which has since 2001 been promoting progressive, bold, Afro-centric development ideas and ideals through incisive scholarly debates and publications. CONTACT US The Inter Region Economic Network Nyaku House Mezzanine Floor, Argwings Kodhek Rd, Hurlingham Phone: +254-20-2731497 / +254-733-671754 Email: [email protected] Web: https://irenkenya.com/ The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World i The Future of Africa in the Post-Covid-19 World Inter Region Economic Network A Peer-Reviewed Publication ii The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World ISBN 978-9914-708-80-6 © Inter Region Economic Network 2021 All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise — without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by Kenya copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at “Attention: IREN Kenya Director,” at the address below: Inter Region Economic Network, Nyaku House Mezannine Floor, Argwings Kodhek Rd, Hurlingham P.O.Box 135 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: 254 20 2731497 Fax: 254-20 2723258 Email: [email protected] The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World iii iv The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World Table of Contents Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................................. vi Preface .................................................................................................................................................. vii Foreword ............................................................................................................................................... ix Disaster Governance Lessons for Africa from Multiscale Covid-19 Models ......................... 1 Post-Pandemic Agenda on Education, Skills Development and Youth .................................. 13 Geopolitics and Geoeconomics Perspectives .............................................................................. 57 Multilateralism .................................................................................................................................. 101 Food Security, Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resources ................................... 129 Covid-19 Opinions ........................................................................................................................... 179 The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World v Acknowledgements The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World as a timely book has benefitted from the contribution of various organisations and persons, who volunteered their support in different appreciable ways. The Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) spearheaded the book publication project under the leadership of the Founder, James Shikwati. Nashon Juma Adero developed the required templates for standardisation and quality control. Inter Region Economic Network acknowledges the partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation that made the 10th IREN East Africa Thought Leaders Forum that led to the publication of this book a great success. The in-house IREN team: Zaina Shisia and Everlyne Liviala are recognised for their logistical support. We highly acknowledge all the authors, without whose contribution this book could not have been realised. The speakers and panel of experts at the forums leading to this publication are highly acknowledged too. The following reviewers made it possible to produce papers that meet the requirements for today’s recognised standards of research outputs. Reviewers Panel 1. Prof. Christine Onyango – Taita Taveta University, Kenya 2. Prof. Maurice Ogada – Taita Taveta University, Kenya 3. Dr Elizabeth Obura – University of Embu, Kenya 4. Paul Odhiambo – Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research & Analysis (KIPPRA), Kenya 5. Dr Omondi R. Owino – Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya 6. Dr Evans Omondi – Strathmore University, Kenya 7. Dr Charles Khamala - Africa Nazarene University Law School 8. Henry Kinyanjui Murigi – United States International University (USIU) -Africa 9. Athman Gunda - Taita Taveta University, Kenya 10. Dickson M. Wachira - Taita Taveta University, Kenya vi The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World Preface “Organised thoughts, when reviewed for veracity and compelling philosophy, then immortalised in books, present humanity the timeless opportunity to pass on knowledge and share experiences while influencing a mindset change — intergenerationally,” Nashon Juma Adero on the priceless value of good books. Anno Remedio. COVID-proofing. Doomscrolling. Infodemic. Panic shopping. Pandemic versus plandemic. Pandemic fatigue. Post-pandemic resilience. Recovery roadmap. Reimagination. Reinvention. Remotopia. Social distancing. Super- spreaders. Vaccine equity. Vaccine hesitancy and scepticism. Vaccine nationalism. The COVID-19 global pandemic has made these keywords rise to the top of popular discourse since it began ravaging the world in early 2020. Organised thoughts, when reviewed for veracity and compelling philosophy, then immortalised in books, present humanity the timeless opportunity to pass on knowledge and share experiences while influencing a mindset change - intergenerationally.The Future of Africa in the Post-COVID-19 World is such a timely book, now in your hands. The COVID-19 pandemic has a singular message for Africa and her future. For her undisputedly weaker infrastructure and health systems by world standards, Africa has posted a performance streak that goes against the previous grim expectations. Africa’s 17% share of the global population but only 3.3% of the global COVID-19 cases and 3.5% of the global death cases by December 11, 2020 add weight to the continent’s reported fair performance record. Africa’s multilateral response to the pandemic has involved the African Union, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak, the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT), and the African Union COVID-19 Fund. Africa must not mistake this relative escape from the worst hit by the pandemic for a final victory. A peek at the continent’s lost school calendar, for example, confirms how the pandemic has shoved the continent’s education sector to the dark side of the digital divide. A growing challenge, therefore, remains in building institutions and systems that can assure adaptive resilience to similar emergencies and disasters, which are bound to be more frequent in a connected world experiencing increasing pressures from human activities, urbanisation, and population growth. Africa’s post-pandemic future cannot be divorced from the data-driven digital transformation wave and the accompanying generational succession by youthful digital natives embracing a borderless worldview. It is a future increasingly demanding of institutional strengthening and a collaborative systems approach to solving common and foremost challenges, such as: healthcare, quality education focused on employability skills and job creation, infrastructure development, food security, energy security, and water security. The chapters of this book have explored the key thematic areas Africa needs to focus on for competitiveness and The Future of
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