This Call to Action was delivered by Ineza Grace (Rwanda) at the 2022 ECOSOC Youth Forum on behalf of the Africa Youth Partnership to Advocate an Equitable Recovery from the Global COVID-19 Pandemic.
The negative impacts of climate change did not take a pause with the global pandemic, however they added more challenges especially for the frontline communities in Africa. Our ability to protect our future and achieve the Paris Agreement depends on our efforts to address the loss and damage as well as how we adapt and mitigate climate change. We are all actors to reduce, minimize and stop the planetary crisis!
As we launch the Africa Youth Partnership:
- We need to strengthen the climate resilient community in Africa to address food insecurity. Climate change affects smallholder farmers, of which more than a majority are women. We need climate smart agriculture that is gender sensitive. We need to address loss and damage!
- Water security is threatened by climate change! Every drop counts! We call for an increase in access to water and sanitation by optimizing water management for effective distribution in the community.
- Unemployment rates need to be reduced! We call for sustainable job opportunities for youth to reduce and stamp out poverty in Africa. We need resilient infrastructure (economic, educational, public, business, etc) to be a source of a sustainable economic growth of the continent within and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
We can all be part of the solution!
I thank you.
