The Francophonie summit ended with a closed-door meeting between heads of state and government. During this last day, the President of the Republic urged the international community to act with fairness in the face of current challenges.
An arrest. During a closed-door meeting on the last day of the 19th summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic, challenged his peers on the inequalities in international reactions to global issues.
“Every year, on the African continent, more than three million children die of malnutrition. This figure is alarming and, yet, the funds allocated to save lives are not commensurate with this tragedy,” declared the tenant of Iavoloha during the closed-door round table of heads of state and government of the ‘OIF, Saturday. These words denounce the double standards of the international community, particularly developed countries, in the face of global crises.
The Iavoloha tenant highlighted the gap between subsidies granted to deal with food insecurity and those allocated to the war in Ukraine. “The war in Ukraine has generated a massive international mobilization of more than 200 billion euros,” he said. On the other hand, development support is distributed sparsely, as are investments having an impact on sustainable development.
As highlighted in the press release from the Presidency of the Republic, Andry Rajoelina “brought together the member countries of the Francophonie around the fight against food insecurity, a cause which is particularly close to his heart (…)”. Although he discussed the fight against food insecurity, he also highlighted the fight against climate change, an area where major powers are reluctant to invest.
While the climate funding committed to by countries, which are also the most polluting, is slow to arrive, developing states are also seeing climate restrictions imposed. These restrictions, on several aspects, have economic and social consequences. For Madagascar, the acquisition of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (FRD), a financing program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), comes with drastic conditionalities.
Fair and inclusive
The conditions imposed for the series of FRD disbursements align with the imperatives of the fight against climate change, of course. But they require equally rigorous and costly support measures to avoid a socio-economic shock that directly affects households. For vulnerable countries like the Big Island, complying with it is not an easy task. Especially since they risk testing the resilience of households.
“We, heads of state and government of countries sharing French, gathered on October 4 and 5, 2024, on the occasion of the 19th summit of La Francophonie in the French Republic (…) remain committed to the challenge of climate finance and remember that no state or government should have to choose between the fight against poverty and the preservation of the planet,” underlines the OIF summit declaration.
Financing can, in fact, help developing countries to mitigate the socio-economic effects of the reforms necessary to implement in the face of climate challenges. They must also enable vulnerable states to be more resilient and better respond to the damage caused by natural disasters. With a succession of droughts and violent cyclones, Madagascar is one of the island countries which are bearing the brunt of the consequences of climate change.
The declaration of the 19th Francophonie summit recalls that “climate financing is a cornerstone of the global effort to combat climate change, and underlines, in this regard, the importance of the Loss and Damage Fund established during of COP 27 [27e Conférence des parties sur la lutte contre le changement climatique] in Sharm el-Sheikh, recognizing its role in addressing the negative impacts of climate change.”
On Instagram and on States that have committed to participating in the climate fund are members of the Organization. Translating their commitments into action would be proof of their solidarity with the most vulnerable French-speaking countries.
“For a renewed multilateralism” is the theme of the closed-door round table in which President Rajoelina participated on Saturday. A theme that fits with his call for more solidarity and equity. At the United Nations during the Future Summit in September, Rasata Rafaravavitafika, Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated that, for Madagascar, multilateralism “must be more inclusive, more equitable and more dynamic so that the needs vulnerable countries, developing island countries be taken into account.”
Garry Fabrice Ranaivoson
