"The greatest asset of any continent is the people who live there. With more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, 43% of whom are under the age of 15, Africa is well endowed in human resources," said Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region. He remains convinced that to compete in a global economy in full digital transformation and to truly reduce poverty, the region must imperatively give its youth and the workers of tomorrow the means to fully exploit their human capital. This is the key to enabling Africans to access a world full of opportunity and promise, and to obtaining the best “returns on investment”. This was the essence of the conference held on Thursday, June 20, 2019 in Kinshasa, bringing together the different national women's structures.

Human capital indicators in Africa are undeniably cause for concern. But some countries have managed to turn the situation around, proving that it is possible to effect transformational change that will benefit generations to come. Through its financial support and valuable analyses, the World Bank is at the forefront of efforts to support the region in its endeavor to strengthen human capital. "We help countries eliminate malnutrition and stunting, expand access to quality education and catch up on maternal and child health," Hafez Ghanem said.

Present at this event, Ms. Diarietou Gaye, Director of Strategy and Operations of the World Bank for Africa, presented the advantages of this plan which will benefit African women in general.

With its Plan for Human Capital in Africa, the World Bank is mobilizing to help the African continent to better invest in its population and to raise the indicators of survival, health, education, social protection and the emancipation of women. by 2023.

By the way, this plan was designed to support countries' efforts to foster people-driven development grounded in the potential of all, especially women and youth. This plan will enable those concerned to concentrate their resources and their energies around one imperative: to help governments create favorable conditions so that children arrive at school with full bellies and in a good disposition to learn, so that students benefit from real learning in the classroom and so that workers have all the tools in hand to participate productively in the labor market.

"I call on each of us: let us join our efforts to make human capital the dynamic of Africa's economic renaissance, the catalyst that will allow Africans to move from poverty to prosperity. The World Bank is committed to committed to working tirelessly to enhance Africa's most precious asset: its people," said the World Bank's President for the Africa Region.

Improving human capital is everyone's business. It requires extensive cross-sectoral mobilization between actors in governance, agriculture, water, transport, health, education and social protection, in order to apply a filter more centered on people to all the initiatives undertaken. This is a long-term undertaking, but the benefits will be innumerable.