- In renewing the commitments to end Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2030, Commonwealth heads pledged over $4 billion
- Heads recognised that global financial support to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the ocean and on land remains insufficient
- Dedicating a ‘living land’ in respective countries would reinforce commitment to keep the rise in global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
The week-long Rwanda-hosted Commonwealth Wealth Heads of Government Meeting 2022 (CHOGM) came to a close in Kigali on June 25, 2022.
The summit which is held every two years – last held in 2018 in the UK due to the pandemic – was themed “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating and Transforming”, the first post COVID-19.
The summit was attended by over 50 heads of government and joined by business, philanthropy, royal and civil society leaders to reaffirm shared values and agree on actions and policies to improve the lives of all Commonwealth citizens.
The now 56-nation club – with French colonies Gabon and Togo being the latest admissions – represents some 2.5 billion people worldwide and is made up mostly of former British colonies from Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. CHOGM presents itself as a partnership of equals and aims to reinforce multilateral cooperation, explore new opportunities, and tackle common challenges for the well-being of future generations.
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Since 1971, 24 meetings have been hosted by different member countries on a rotational basis.
In as much as the British monarch is not automatically its figurehead, so far, the baton has passed from the queen’s father to herself to her son.
Of note was Britain’s Prince Charles expression of contempt for his country’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade – the first time the United Kingdom has publicly addressed the subject.
With the membership comes help to access new export markets, fund development projects, and enable their citizens to access new educational and cultural resources. That said, let’s look at the sectors in Africa that would benefit most from the summit.
Healthcare
In renewing the commitments to end Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2030, Commonwealth heads pledged over $4 billion in new funding, and pharmaceutical companies donated 18 billion tablets.
Progress against Malaria and NTDs has stalled in recent years and even reversed in some countries due to paucity of funding, teeming population, and the Coronavirus pandemic.
In 2020, an estimated 241 million people were infected and 627,000 people died of malaria — 95 per cent of whom were young children in sub-Saharan Africa.
More than $12 billion is incurred in individual cost (illness, treatment, travel, premature death, lost days of work, absence from school, lost economic growth and government cost (maintenance, supply and staffing of health facilities; purchase of drugs and supplies; public health interventions against malaria, lost opportunities for joint economic ventures and tourism).
NTDs represent two-thirds of the global burden as it affects some of the world’s most vulnerable people and is endemic in 46 of the Commonwealth’s countries.
Infrastructure
Commonwealth heads recognised the crucial role of investment in transforming economies and creating inclusive economic growth and long-term prosperity.
By acknowledging that high-quality investment and infrastructure, both digital and physical, and notably clean, green infrastructure investment, is a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth, the heads noted the opportunities arising from investment partnerships across the Commonwealth membership to bring mutual benefits to all.
Blue Economy
Oceans play an important role in mitigating and adapting to climate change and supporting sustainable blue economies for resilient economic recovery, especially for small island states.
Heads recognised that despite developing countries needing global support to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the ocean and on land, financial support remains insufficient.
They noted the need to mobilise additional funding for an integrated and inclusive approach to financing the ocean, climate, and nature, to maximise co-benefits and leverage cost-effective ecosystem-based approaches in line with SDG 14 and the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact.
They called for additional investments from the philanthropic and private sector communities and mandated the Secretariat to develop robust and sustainable resourcing options and solutions to support cooperative activities by member countries under the Blue Charter.
In addition, the heads lauded the effort taken by the ten Action countries, Groups, led by sixteen champion countries, on tackling marine plastic pollution, expanded ocean observations, ocean-based climate action, marine environmental protection, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable use of the ocean and strategies for blue economy.
Trade
The findings of the 2021 Commonwealth Trade Review revealed a need for more ambitious action to boost intra-Commonwealth trade to US$ 2 trillion by 2030 and the impact that trade can have on tackling poverty.
Emphasis was placed on the importance of trade in goods and services and investment for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and prosperity. This includes considering development clauses in new trading agreements that reinforce the interconnected nature of trade and development objectives.
Of note was the progress made on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda since CHOGM 2018, the work carried out by the five connectivity clusters and the lead countries towards generating inclusive and participatory inter-Commonwealth trade and investment and called on Commonwealth Trade Ministers to take the requisite steps to ensure the optimal work of the clusters. They noted the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda Action Plan and undertook to intensify efforts for impactful outcomes.
Sustainable Development
Commonwealth members have agreed to dedicate a ‘living land’ in their respective countries to future generations, in line with the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The Living Land Charter mandates all member countries to safeguard global land resources while taking coordinated action on climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable land management.
This would reinforce commitment under the Paris Agreement to keep the rise in global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
This charter is of numerous benefits to the African continent, which bears the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change. Also, a Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub assists developing country members with human and institutional capacity to mobilise climate finance for enhanced climate action, including through the development of bankable projects and robust climate policies.
Clean Energy
Kenya and Eswatini will lead Commonwealth action on geothermal energy and energy literacy, forming voluntary coalitions of member states willing to work together to develop strategies on geothermal energy and literacy.
This is in line with the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition (CSET) Agenda for accelerating the global energy transition. The Action Group on Energy Literacy will share information, know-how, and best practices and collaborate to promote energy literacy amongst children, young people, local communities, and other relevant stakeholders. Countries such as Malta, Ghana, Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already signed up to join the Action Group.
Currently, four Commonwealth member countries have installed geothermal energy – New Zealand has the highest installed capacity at 984 MW, Kenya (823.8 MW), Papua New Guinea (56 MW) and Australia (0.31 MW).
However, there is great potential for its development in the Commonwealth, particularly in geothermal resource-rich countries such as Canada, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent, St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean and the Americas; Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda in East Africa; and Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific.