I thank my sisters @Winnie_Byanyima & @nardosbthomas for moderating this session. As I remarked, we need to rely on each to avoid duplication and be able to provide access to medical products such as AIDS to patients in need. At @AU_AMA_ we are committed to play our part.

Following the #UNGA81 roundtable they co-convened, @BadrJafar met H.E. @NardosBThomas of @NEPAD_Agency to take the proposed #Agenda2063 philanthropy platform forward – turning participant input into a clear design, founding partners and priority workstreams. #UAE

Join AUDA-NEPAD today for the webinar “Accelerating Domestication Support for the CAADP Kampala Agenda” and learn how practical, demand-driven support is accelerating country-led implementation of the Kampala Agenda. 📅 25 September 2026 ⏰ 16:00 HRS SAST 💻 Virtual | Zoom 🔗 Register here: zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_… From continental commitments to country-led, investment-ready agrifood systems. #CAADP #KampalaAgenda #AgrifoodSystems #AfricanAgriculture

1/8 What if education, skills and jobs were never separate conversations? A young person can have an education and still struggle to find work. A country can train thousands of graduates and still import the skills, technology and products its economy needs. A continent can be rich in talent and resources, yet watch much of the value they generate created elsewhere. That is the gap Africa must close. On the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, our AUDA-NEPAD under the leadership of @nardosbthomas and the International Cooperation Center of the People’s Republic of China (Virtual) brought together African governments, Chinese partners, academia, industry and development institutions for a Joint Presidential Roundtable on Education, Skills and Jobs through South-South Cooperation and Development. The conversation began with a simple but powerful proposition: Education. Skills. Enterprise. Industrialisation. Jobs. These are not separate agendas. They are part of the same development journey. And when the links between them are weak, young people are the ones who fall through the gaps. Africa is confronting these questions at a pivotal moment. Its youth population is growing rapidly. Technology is changing faster than many education systems can adapt. And qualifications do not always translate into the skills economies need. The Roundtable therefore moved the conversation beyond access alone. Not simply: How do we educate more young Africans? But also: How do we turn learning into capability?
Capability into production?
Production into African enterprises?
And enterprise into decent, sustainable jobs? @BarrowPresident @OVP_gm @StateHouseKenya @WilliamsRuto @EduMinKenya @edmnangagwa @MICTPCS_ZW @Chinamission2un @ChinaAmbUN @CHN_UN_NY @BWGovernment @WitsUniversity @Wits_WSG @PKU1898 @SpixFoundation @mEducation_A @nardosbthomas @SymerreGrey @BarbsGlover @kudadandaz #UNGA81 #AUDANEPAD #SouthSouthCooperation #Education #SkillsDevelopment #YouthEmployment #Industrialisation #DigitalTransformation #Jobs #AfricaWeWant

2/8 The conversation began with a difficult question: How much value does Africa retain from what it produces? In her keynote, Professor Jia Yu challenged the traditional development model, calling for a shift from financing gaps to building productive capacity, from isolated projects to industrial clusters, and from education alone to skills matched with industry. Professor Zeblon Vilakazi then connected that challenge to Johannesburg’s own history: a city built on mineral wealth, yet marked by the unequal distribution of the prosperity that wealth created. His message was clear: Africa has long supplied the world with raw materials and talent, while too much of the value, technology and high-value work has been created elsewhere. Changing this equation requires more than local processing. It requires engineers, researchers, technicians, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and institutions capable of moving economies up the value chain. Industrialisation begins long before a factory is built. It begins in classrooms, universities, laboratories and businesses and in decisions about who develops the capabilities, owns the enterprises and controls the technology. Economic sovereignty is ultimately a question of capability. @BarrowPresident @OVP_gm @StateHouseKenya @WilliamsRuto @EduMinKenya @edmnangagwa @MICTPCS_ZW @Chinamission2un @ChinaAmbUN @CHN_UN_NY @BWGovernment @WitsUniversity @Wits_WSG @PKU1898 @SpixFoundation @mEducation_A @nardosbthomas @SymerreGrey @BarbsGlover @kudadandaz #AfricaRising #Industrialisation #SkillsDevelopment #EconomicSovereignty #UNGA81

3/8 From Connectivity to capability The Gambia brought a powerful question to the Roundtable: What does digital inclusion really mean for Africa’s young people? Representing @BarrowPresident, Hon. @BaboucarrBouye shared The Gambia’s experience in advancing education, digital inclusion and the productive use of the internet. That conversation led to the launch of two complementary initiatives. The first, AUDA-NEPAD’s Programme for Inclusive and Productive Use of the Internet in Africa (PIPIA), with The Gambia as its first pilot country, asks what happens after people get connected. Can they learn, work, earn, create and build enterprises? As our CEO H.E. Mrs @nardosbthomas put it: “Access is the starting point. Productive use is the prize.” The second, the GSMA-supported ATLAS Umoja AI initiative, addresses another critical dimension of inclusion: language. If AI is shaping access to education, public services, markets and information, Africans must be able to interact with these systems in the languages they speak, including Kiswahili, Hausa, Wolof and Twi. Because language is not a technical detail. It can be the difference between inclusion and exclusion. Together, PIPIA and ATLAS Umoja AI are redefining digital transformation, not as connectivity alone, but as capability, participation and relevance. @OVP_gm @EAA_Foundation @GSMA @GSMAm4d @IDRC_CRDI @RealSmartAfrica @DeepIndaba @Googleorg @Microsoft @Meta @OpenAl @Cisco @gatesfoundation @MastercardFdn @SpixFoundation @mEducation_A @SymerreGrey @kudadandaz @BarbsGlover #DigitalInclusion #AI #YouthSkills #AfricaRising #DigitalTransformation #UNGA81

4/8 From Commitments to Results Africa does not lack ambitious policies. Agenda 2063, AfCFTA, CESA, STISA 2034 and national development plans all set out a clear vision for the continent’s future. The harder question is: What happens between agreement and implementation? Representing H.E. President @WilliamsRuto, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, Honourable John Mbadi, brought this challenge to the Roundtable alongside a proposed solution: a Continental Centre of Excellence for Human Capital and Institutional Development. The Centre would help Member States turn commitments into results by connecting political leadership, technical expertise, research, knowledge exchange and catalytic financing. Because investing in people requires the same seriousness and long-term financing as investing in roads, ports and power. But skills systems cannot work in isolation. They must connect with industries, value chains and job-creating enterprises, supported by institutions that can coordinate, finance and deliver. A country can train thousands of young people while employers still report skills shortages. It can produce excellent research while innovation remains locked inside universities. The lesson is clear: Implementation is not what happens after strategy. Implementation is a capability that must be built. @StateHouseKenya @WilliamsRuto @EduMinKenya @AfDB_Group @KfW_FZ_int @MastercardFdn @IFC_org @IFCAfrica @IDRC_CRDI @WitsUniversity @Wits_WSG @PKU1898 @Chinamission2un @nardosbthomas @SymerreGrey @kudadandaz @BarbsGlover #HumanCapital #SkillsDevelopment #PolicyImplementation #InstitutionBuilding #AfricaRising #UNGA81

5/8 From Cooperation to Industrial Capability Zimbabwe brought a concrete industrialisation story to the #UNGA81 Joint Presidential Roundtable. Representing H.E. President @edmnangagwa, Dr Willard Manungo shared how South-South Cooperation is supporting infrastructure, productive capacity and industrial transformation—from power generation and transport to digital infrastructure and high-performance computing. But he also made an essential point: Infrastructure and capital alone cannot sustain industrialisation. Industrialisation needs engineers, scientists, technicians, artisans, entrepreneurs, researchers, managers and innovators. That is the thinking behind Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 approach, which connects education and research directly to innovation and industry. As Dr Manungo put it: “Our universities must not only produce graduates who seek employment; they must produce knowledge, technologies, innovations and enterprises that create employment.” This means moving research beyond laboratories into factories, farms, mines, communities and markets and building a connected ecosystem between universities, government, research institutions and industry. It also raises a more demanding question for development cooperation: What can African institutions, enterprises and people do now that they could not do before? That is the true measure of lasting partnership: not only what was funded, but what capabilities remain. @edmnangagwa @MICTPCS_ZW @Chinamission2un @ChinaAmbUN @CHN_UN_NY @GSMA @GSMAm4d @RealSmartAfrica @DeepIndaba @Googleorg @Microsoft @Meta @OpenAl @Cisco @PKU1898 @AfDB_Group @IFC_org @IFCAfrica @nardosbthomas @SymerreGrey @kudadandaz @BarbsGlover #Industrialisation #SouthSouthCooperation #Innovation #HumanCapital #Education #AfricaRising #UNGA81

From Health Costs to Health Capital At the #UNGA81 High-Level Strategy Circle, “From Cost to Capital: Financing Africa’s Health Sovereignty,” our CEO, H.E. @nardosbthomas, called for a fundamental shift in how Africa approaches health financing. The question is no longer only how to close financing gaps. It is how to build the systems through which Africa can finance, produce and deliver health while creating investment opportunities, driving industrialisation, generating jobs and strengthening sovereignty. Africa has the demand. Africa has the talent. Africa has the market. Through #PIFAH and complementary continental initiatives, we’re working to connect public financing, private capital, innovation and industrial capability to build resilient health systems and competitive African health industries. The imperative is clear: Move from financing health as a cost to investing in health as capital. @NEPAD_Agency @AfricaCDC @WHO @DrTedros @_AfricanUnion @AU_AMA_ @USChamber @USCCFoundation @CorpCnclAfrica @gatesfoundation @CIFFchild @bmz_Bund @afreximbank @globalfund @theendfund @UNITAID @WorldBankGroup @IFC_org @IFCAfrica @AccraReset @Georgetown @georgetownsfs @AfricanUnionUN @AfCFTA @Dr_JeanKaseya #HealthSovereignty #HealthIndustrialisation #InvestInAfrica #AUDA_NEPAD #UNGA81

2/3 And the room reflected the significance of the agenda. We were deeply honoured by the presence of three distinguished First Ladies: 🇦🇴 H.E. Dr. Ana Dias Lourenço, First Lady of Angola 🇸🇱 H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, @FirstLadyBio, First Lady of Sierra Leone 🇬🇲 H.E. Madam Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow, @FirstLady_GMB, First Lady of The Gambia Alongside them were Ministers, diplomats, cultural leaders, creatives, academia, diaspora voices, development institutions and private-sector partners. With participation exceeding the capacity of the room, the energy was unmistakable and new connections were made, ideas crossed sectors and conversations were sparked that can grow into meaningful collaborations well beyond #UNGA81. This is how momentum becomes movement. @OAFLAD @Ladyfatimabio @GhanaPresidency @GhanaMFA @motac_gh @Presidency_GMB @AfricanUnionUN @_AfricanUnion @AU_ECOSOCC @UNESCO @UNWTO @afreximbank @AfDB_Group @BritishCouncil @ssaBritish @PBebia @Leaders_Icons @nardosbthomas @SymerreGrey @Nyiko_Chulu @EU_Partnerships @EU_Commission @Enabel_Belgium @ilo @AFD_en @ecowas_cedeao @OECDdev @giz_gmbh @KfW @AECID_es @WomenforWomen @gatesfoundation @MastercardFdn @RockefellerFdn @UNFPA @UNDP @AICS_it @jica_direct_en @CIDCAofficial @UNIDO @UNAIDS @Sida @SIFA_FC @achpr_cadhp @kudadandaz #CreativeEconomy #AfricanHeritage #CulturalRestitution

Reparatory justice must do more than acknowledge what was taken. It must restore Africa’s capacity to produce, own and govern value. At our #UNGA81 High-Level Dialogue on Reparative Justice, Cultural Restitution and Africa’s Creative Economy Transformation, I was honoured to engage with H.E. Ana Dias Lourenço, First Lady of Angola; H.E. @Ladyfatimabio, First Lady of Sierra Leone; H.E. @FirstLady_GMB, First Lady of The Gambia; Hon. @Dzifa_Gomashie, Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts; H.E. Ambassador Esmeralda Mendonça, Angola’s Secretary of State for External Relations @angola_Mirex; H.E. Ambassador @JosefaSacko; H.E. Ambassador Dr Erieka Bennett of @forumdiaspora and H.E. Ambassador @BridgetteMotse1. The task now is to translate the 2026–2036 Decade of Reparations, Restitution and Justice into practical mechanisms for restitution, stronger institutions for protecting Africa’s heritage, investment in creative enterprises, and pathways that mobilise diaspora knowledge and capital. Africa’s culture is not simply what we remember. It is a living economic asset whose value must increasingly be created, retained and governed by Africans. #ReparatoryJustice #CulturalRestitution #CreativeEconomy #Agenda2063 #AUDA_NEPAD

At #UNGA81, African leaders, scientists, communities, governments and global partners came together to discuss how Africa can strengthen its capacity to produce the medicines and health technologies it needs — for HIV, AIDS and future pandemics. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima @Winnie_Byanyima opened with a challenge: “Amazing science without access will not improve people’s health.” The science is moving fast — from long-acting HIV medicines to new diagnostics and shorter treatments. But the question is how to make sure that innovation reaches people everywhere. For Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Director General of AUDA-NEPAD @nardosbthomas, the direction is clear: “The vision is not missing. What’s needed now is alignment and investment.” That means stronger African markets, local manufacturing, technology transfer and regulatory capacity. Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice President Tiémoko Meyliet Koné stressed that health sovereignty does not mean isolation. Countries need to work together to expand production, innovate and transfer technology. And the conversation kept coming back to people. Florence Anam, Co-Executive Director at the Global Network of People Living with HIV [@gnpplus], reminded the room: “Availability isn’t access.” Stigma, discrimination and barriers to health services still determine whether people can benefit from scientific progress. South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Health, Joseph Phaahla [@HealthZA], highlighted another piece of the puzzle: local manufacturing needs predictable demand, pooled procurement and investment to be sustainable. From Brazil, Adriano Massuda, Executive Secretary, Ministry of Health, Brazil [@Adriano_Massuda ], reinforced the point: “Scientific progress alone is not enough.” Strong public health systems, community leadership and local production matter too. And international partners called for a different model of cooperation — one that invests in African institutions and ensures Africa is part of the process from the beginning. The message from the room was clear: Africa cannot just buy. Africa must be able to produce, innovate and shape the future of global health. The systems being built through the HIV response can also strengthen Africa’s preparedness for the pandemics of tomorrow.

At the Africa Leadership: Health Sovereignty, HIV and Pandemic Preparedness event at #UNGA81, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, highlighted a critical challenge: Africa’s markets remain fragmented. “No plant can manufacture if the demand is not really aggregated and organized well.” She highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area as one tool to bring demand together across the continent — giving African producers the scale and predictability they need to invest in advanced manufacturing.

A malaria-free Africa will not be delivered by a single breakthrough. It will be built through strong systems capable of taking every breakthrough to the people who need it. At the 11th Annual Meeting of the End Malaria Council, I joined H.E. President @duma_boko of Botswana, H.E. @MaEllenSirleaf, @BillGates, @RaymondChambers, @pbasinga of @GatesAfrica and @Dr_JeanKaseya of @AfricaCDC for a powerful exchange on the future of malaria elimination. Our discussion reinforced a central truth: new vaccines, diagnostics and technologies will only save lives at scale when they are matched by African scientific capability, strong regulatory institutions, sustainable financing and trusted delivery systems. That is how innovation becomes resilience—and how a malaria-free Africa becomes achievable. #EndMalaria #ZeroMalaria #GlobalHealth #HealthSecurity #UNGA81 #AUDA_NEPAD

Africa’s future will not be financed by business as usual. On the margins of #UNGA81, I was honoured to be joined by H.E. Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates @mofauae , and my co-convenor, H.E. @BadrJafar, @uaesebp as @NEPAD_Agency brought together influential philanthropic leaders, foundations and investors to begin shaping a new platform for accelerating #Agenda2063. The ambition is clear: connect Africa’s priorities and investment-ready pipelines with capital that is patient, catalytic and bold enough to back African solutions at scale. The energy in the room was electric, enriched by powerful contributions from @lindarottenberg, @NaguibSawiris, @DrSenait, @Somachi Chris-Asoluka @TonyElumeluFDN, @wellcometrust @RockefellerFdn and @Sonia Ben Jaafar. This is philanthropy reimagined—not as generosity at the margins, but as strategic capital that can absorb risk, unlock larger investment and transform bold ideas into measurable impact. #UNGA81 #Agenda2063 #Philanthropy #InvestInAfrica #AUDA_NEPAD

On the sidelines of #UNGA81 the @AfricaEuropeFdn Women Leaders Breakfast, co-chaired by Former President of Ireland H.E Mary Robinson and Former President of Liberia H.E Ellen Johnson Sirleaf @MaEllenSirleaf. The key question was, in this era of troubled global cooperation and weakened multilateralism, how can Africa and Europe align their interests to seize opportunities that a strengthened Africa-Europe partnership can bring. Areas such as smart and sustainable energy partnerships, critical minerals, digital, AI partnerships. With @KGeorgieva MD of @IMFNews, @NadiaCalvino President of @EIB, @AminaJMohammed Deputy UN Secretary General, @nardosbthomas CEO of Africa Union Development Agency, @RGrynspan SG of @UNCTAD and candidate for UNSG, @yakisawyerr Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, among others.

“Africa’s health future will be shaped not only by how much we spend, but by how boldly we invest.” — our CEO, H.E. @nardosbthomas. At #UNGA81, our High-Level Strategy Circle examined a critical question: What would it take to make debt-for-health swaps scalable, sustainable and transformative for Africa? As we advance efforts to establish a continental framework for scaling debt-for-health swaps, the discussions explored how these instruments can complement domestic resource mobilisation, improve fiscal space and expand Africa’s health financing arsenal. But mobilising additional financing is only part of the equation. Through the Programme for Investment and Financing in Africa’s Health Sector (#PIFAH), we are working to translate financing into investment-ready opportunities, mobilise long-term capital and strengthen the productive capacity of Africa’s health sector. Our ambition is not simply to plug financing gaps, but to rebuild the architecture through which Africa finances, invests in and secures its health future. The imperative is to move beyond short-term financing solutions towards a coherent continental approach that connects debt relief, domestic resources, innovative financing and strategic investment to deliver lasting health and development outcomes. @NEPAD_Agency @AfricaCDC @WHO @DrTedros @AfricanUnion @AU_AMA @USChamber @USCCFoundation @CorpCnclAfrica @gatesfoundation @CIFFchild @bmz_Bund @afreximbank @globalfund @theendfund @UNITAID @WorldBankGroup @IFC_org @IFCAfrica @AccraReset @Georgetown @georgetownsfs @AfricanUnionUN @AfCFTA #AUDA_NEPAD #PIFAH #HealthFinancing #DebtForHealth #HealthSovereignty #UNGA81

Africa’s next great growth industry may well be health. At the GABI Solutions Lab on Health as Wealth, I made the case that health is not simply a social expenditure—it is one of Africa’s most valuable economic assets. By 2030, the continent’s health economy could be worth US$259 billion and support 16 million jobs. Yet Africa still imports more than 85 per cent of the medicines it consumes. Closing that gap is not only a health imperative; it is an industrial opportunity. We must build the full ecosystem: African manufacturing, reliable infrastructure, skilled professionals, innovative enterprises, strong regulation and regional markets. Our Home-Grown Solutions Accelerator shows what is possible: 46 African healthcare ventures are already reaching an estimated 48 million people each year. When a health investment powers a clinic, grows an African company, employs a young scientist and brings life-saving products closer to families, health truly becomes wealth.

What a wonderful engagement to kick off #UNGA81 with the Africa-Europe Women Leaders Network, an important space for candid reflection on how we build a stronger, more equal partnership between our two continents. I shared that restoring trust requires more than a compelling narrative. It requires a partnership that is experienced as fair, reciprocal and capable of delivering. This means moving from extraction to beneficiation, from donor-recipient relations to co-investment, and from individual projects to systems that strengthen African institutions. Ultimately, our cooperation must be measured by the jobs it creates, the value it adds within Africa, and the lasting capacity it leaves behind.