Peter Uzoho
A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and presidential candidate
of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) in the 2019 general election, Prof.
Kingsley Moghalu, has been selected as one of the speakers at a forum holding in
Washington DC, the United States of America, on Thursday.
The panel with the topic: “Understanding the Drivers of Inequality in Africa and Implications for Human Development,” is being jointly hosted by the Africa Growth Initiative at The Brookings Institution and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Moghalu, and his co-panelists who are experts in inequality and African economic development would discuss the economic, governance, and security implications of the diverse and evolving inequalities across the continent.
The Brookings in a statement, said the discussion was being held owing to the realisation that high average rates of economic growth in Africa over the past two decades have failed to make an appreciable dent on inequality across the continent.
According to the global research institution, while the situation varied in size across the region, the chasm between the rich and poor had remained widespread and entrenched.
It noted that a business-as-usual approach would not address factors driving inequality in the continent.
The Brookings, however, stressed the need to go beyond income to understand inequalities in key elements of human development such as health, education, dignity, and human rights.
It added: “We must go beyond averages and analyse the various ways in which inequality plays out across an entire population, in different places and over time.
“The United Nations Development Programme explores these themes and provides policy recommendations to address inequality in its 2019 Human Development Report.
“This report analyses persistent and cumulative disparities in human development, as well as a new generation of inequalities that are largely spurred by differential access to technology, economic opportunities, political dominance, and climate change effects in an attempt to unpack the drivers of these different trends.”
Other members of the panel include: Chief Economist and Head of Strategy, Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP, Raymond Gilpin; Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development, W. Gyude Moore; Global Director, Poverty, World Bank, Carolina Sanchez-Paramo; and Senior Fellow and Director, Africa Growth Initiative, The Brookings Institution, Brahima S. Coulibaly (Moderator).
Also, a special presentation would be delivered by the Policy Specialist, Human Development Report, UNDP, Heriberto Tapia, to set the tone for the panel session.
