At the AfricaXchange 2026 summit in Nairobi, Kenya, I discussed the ‘Future of Development Cooperation: How Africa Shapes the Next Era of Partnership’ alongside HE Madam Nardos Bekele-Thomas - CEO, Africa Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD); Mamadou Biteye - Executive Secretary of The African Capacity Building Foundation; Moky Makura - Executive Director, Africa No Filter; and our moderator William Asiko - Vice President for the Africa Region Office, Rockefeller Foundation. It was also great to exchange ideas on reshaping development cooperation amid shifts in global funding landscapes with Elizabeth Yee - Executive Vice President of Programs, Rockefeller Foundation, and Peter Laugham - President and CEO, Conrad N Hilton Foundation CEO, and the role of philanthropy and the future of Development Finance with a wider group during an engaging roundtable discussion.
In Yenagoa, I joined my brother and friend, His Excellency Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State, to celebrate with the people of Southern Ijaw Local Government, the completion of a remarkable journey of development.
In 2022, Governor Diri invited me to perform the groundbreaking for the Angiama–Oporoma Bridge and road project - an ambitious undertaking to open up, for the first time since independence, some of Nigeria’s most prolific oil-producing communities. On this visit, I had the privilege of driving across that completed bridge, commissioned a few weeks ago by His Excellency President Bola Tinubu, to the warm welcome of a joyful crowd of Southern Ijaw citizens.
We also commissioned the Oporoma Referral Hospital, abandoned for decades and now restored to serve the people, as well as the Agbura-Oxbow Lake Road, another landmark project in Yenagoa Local Government.
I was deeply touched by the warm reception from Governor Diri, members of his cabinet, the National Assembly delegation, the leadership of Southern Ijaw Local Government, and the great people of Southern Ijaw.
This is what purposeful leadership and committed development look like.
I was honoured to give a special reading at the launch of the Global Union of Negotiators for Sovereignty and presentation of the inaugural case study of the Sankoree Institute on Baba, HE Olusegun Obasanjo, and his incredible legacy as one of Africa’s most seasoned negotiators spanning over four decades.
The launch was hosted by the Accra Reset and Sankoree Institute, and expertly emceed by Serah Makka, Executive Director for Africa at the ONE Campaign, with tributes from Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - Director-General of the World Trade Organisation; Samaila Zubairu - CEO, Africa Finance Corporation; and Wale Edun - Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy of Nigeria, among others.
A busy week on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington DC, with five key moments:
- Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC) bilaterals: Discussed next steps with AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah and Save the Children UK CEO Moazzam Malik.
- DEVEX Panel: A Reset for Development Cooperation: Joined co-chair FDCC Arancha González Laya and Head of FDCC Secretariat Alexia Latortue to unpack what comes after the aid era.
- Geoeconomics Forum: Discussed “Financing What Works: Country Leadership for Women’s and Children’s Health” with Dr. Kalpana Kochhar, Director of Development Policy and Finance at the Gates Foundation.
- UNDP Africa Innovation Fund (timbuktoo) Ministerial Co-Financing Roundtable: Alongside the new UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo and UNDP Africa Regional Director Ahunna Eziakonwa, we shared our progress with Hon. Mutesi Rusagara - Minister of State for Resource Mobilization and Public Investments, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Rwanda; Hon, Luís Kondjimbi Kaíca Epalanga - Secretary of State for Planning, Angola; Hon. Dr. Retselisitsoe Adelaide Matlanyane - Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Lesotho; Dr. Deborah Odoh - Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Republic of Nigeria; and Hon Situmbeko Musokotwane - Minister of Finance, Zambia.
- Panel Discussion: How Can Africa Finance Its Own Transformation?Explored mobilization of domestic capital at scale with Samaila Zubairu, CEO AFC; Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Prudential and Credit Suisse; Greg Guyett, EBRD; with our moderator Arancha González Laya, Co-chair of FDCC.
Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed joined me, fellow co-chair Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Head of Secretariat for the Coalition Alexia Latortue and several Commissioners of the Coalition as we hosted friends and colleagues who came to wish us well on our journey with the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition. Grateful for the encouragement, solidarity, and shared commitment as we advance this important work together.
With my fellow co-chair Ms Arancha González Laya - Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, and the ten newly appointed commissioners of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition at our inaugural meeting on the margins of the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings in Washington DC, USA:
- Azucena Arbeleche (Uruguay)- Director of Banco Itaú Uruguay and Banco Itaú Chile and former Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay
- Shenglin Ben (China) - Dean of Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS)
- Abigail Kajumba (Uganda) - Executive Director of Emerging Public Leaders and Co-founder of TriTrees
- Joaquim Levy (Brazil) - Chair of the Climate Finance Hub; former Minister of Finance of Brazil; and former CFO and Managing Director of the World Bank Group
- Shankar Maruwada (India) - Co-founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, and a key member of the founding team for India’s digital identity program, Aadhaar
- Rania Al-Mashat (Egypt) - Former Minister of Planning, Economic Development & International Cooperation and Tourism of Egypt
- David Miliband (United Kingdom) - President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom
- Jasandra Nyker (South Africa) - Managing Partner of Saja Climate Partners
- Daouda Sembene (Senegal) - President and CEO of AfriCatalyst
- Tamara Hasan Abed (Bangladesh) - Managing Director of BRAC Enterprises (who joined us online)
I delivered the opening keynote on ‘Health as Sovereign Investment: The Macroeconomic Imperative’ at the Health Financing Event at the 58th Session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Tangier, Morocco, also celebrating the launch of UNECA’s new Transforming Health Financing in Africa Initiative.
A pleasure to see friends and colleagues: our host HE Claver Gatete - Executive Secretary of the UNECA; HE Mahmoud Ali Youssouf - Chairperson, African Union Commission; HE Nadia Fettah Alaoui - Minister of Economy and Finance, Kingdom of Morocco; Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa - UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and UNDP Director for Regional Bureau for Africa; Mr Paul Tasong - Minister Delegate for the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development for Cameroon; Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi - WHO Regional Director for Africa; Dr Delese Mimi Darko - Director General, African Medicines Agency; and Dr Michel Sidibe - African Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency and former Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali.
This afternoon in Tangier, Morocco, I met with Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) @economic_commission_for_africa , to discuss the UNECA’s very forward-looking Transforming Health Financing in Africa Initiative, positioning healthcare not just as social expenditure but also as a sovereign investment in economic growth. We were also joined by colleagues from the UN Economic Commission: Said Adejumobi – Director of the Strategic Planning, Oversight, and Results Division (SPORD), Stephen Karingi - Director of ECA’s Macroeconomics and Governance Division, Stephen Chundama - Programme Officer.
I met with HE Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and current Chair of ECOWAS, to discuss a new initiative with Future Perspectives @futperspectives , in partnership with Gates Foundation, focused on identifying innovative approaches to financing healthcare and strengthening health systems to respond effectively to climate-related challenges in a number of countries in West Africa, including Sierra Leone. In addition to the initiative, we also discussed the increasingly acute impact of climate change on agriculture and food security.
I was accompanied by a delegation from Future Perspectives, including Yemi Asekun - Co-founder and Head of Growth and Strategy, Abby Asekun - Co-founder and Executive Director, Mirya Sabi - Programme Coordinator, and Dr Fatou Wurie - Senior Consultant, Faridah Dikko - Executive Assistant and Adedotun Adebayo - Operational Support Consultant.
