By Asmau Ahmad
United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, will on Monday attend the opening of the high-level segment of the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification (COP15), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
UN Spokesperson, Mr Stéphane Dujarric, who said this at a news conference at UN headquarters, New York, said she would be in the country to attend COP15 from May 7 to 9, on the invitation of the government and others, and to attend on behalf of the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
COP15 is a pivotal moment in how the African continent and other regions affected by extreme drought and land use challenges will move forward in the face of climate change.
Mohammed will be on hand for the high-level summit on Monday, with heads of state and high-ranking leaders expected to attend.
Among them are Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and President Macky Sall of Senegal.
Abidjan also will welcome youth activists focused on biodiversity, adaptation and “saving the soil” initiatives.
The meetings come as many African nations, particularly across the Sahel and Horn of Africa, face unprecedented soil and land conservation issues.
A report released Friday by humanitarian aid group, World Vision estimates that 9.1 million people in seven East African nations live in an emergency state of food insecurity, driven by severe drought along with conflict and COVID challenges.
Up to 65 per cent of Africa’s productive soil and agricultural land are degraded, while desertification affects 45 per cent of the continent’s land overall, according to a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The COP15 agenda includes discussions on developing drought resilience and future-proofing land use, as well as pathways to land restoration and the role of African youth in achieving that goal.
