The World Bank unveiled a new plan, “World Bank Africa Human Capital Plan” on April 11, 2019 to help African countries strengthen their human capital. The objective of the plan is to enable Africa’s young people to grow up with optimal health and equipped with the right skills to compete in the digitizing global economy. Sub-Saharan Africa scores the lowest of all the world’s regions on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, a measurement of how well countries invest in the next generation of workers. In an effort to help countries turn these indicators around, the World Bank’s Africa Human Capital Plan is setting ambitious targets to be achieved in the region by 2023. These include a drastic reduction in child mortality to save 4 million lives, averting stunting among 11 million children, and increasing learning outcomes for girls and boys in school by 20%. These achievements can raise Africa’s Human Capital Index score upwards to increase the productivity of future workers by 13%.
At this morning seminar, Magnus Lindelow, Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition and Population for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank, presented its key points via videoconference from the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.
Speaker
Magnus Lindelow
Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition and Population for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank
Presentation material: Africa Human Capital Plan (PDF)