AfDB Launches Africa Resilience Forum to Tackle Fragility and Conflict
The sixth Africa Resilience Forum, hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), opened on 1 October 2025 in Abidjan, calling for international financial institutions to scale up investments in peace and prevention in fragile contexts across Africa.
The biennial conference comes as the continent faces increasing conflicts, displacement, and other drivers of fragility. AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah, speaking through Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, highlighted the forum’s theme, “Prioritising Prevention: Financing Peace in a Changing Development Cooperation Landscape”, emphasising that “there is no peace without development and no development without peace.”
Yero Baldeh, Director of the Bank’s Transition States Coordination Office, noted that Africa’s fragility landscape is shaped by climate shocks, economic pressures, demographic changes, and geopolitical uncertainty. He urged that financing peace should be viewed not as reactive, but as a proactive investment in prevention.
Africa experienced over 30,000 conflict events in 2024, with roughly 250 million people living in fragile or conflict-affected areas, more than 44 million displaced, and one in five facing food insecurity. Meanwhile, overseas development assistance is projected to fall by up to 17% in 2025, making prevention financing even more critical.
Through the African Development Fund’s Transition Support Facility, the AfDB has expanded allocations for preventive interventions by 35% between 2023 and 2025. Senior Vice President Akin-Olugbade highlighted that each dollar invested in evidence-based prevention programmes can save up to $16 in the long term.
The forum’s opening panel featured Sierra Leone’s Planning and Economic Development Minister Kenyeh Barlay, Interpeace Board Member Amina Mohamed, and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar. Panelists stressed that sustaining peace requires targeted, context-specific strategies, backed by both political will and financial commitment.
The Africa Resilience Forum runs until 3 October 2025, bringing together governments, development partners, and international financial institutions to explore strategies for scaling up peace-positive investments across the continent.
