President William Ruto has said international financial institutions need to adjust to match the economic challenges that face countries in the Global South.
He said the needs of the developing world have changed fundamentally since the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were set up and the institutions should change too.
“The experience with climate change and the Covid 19 pandemic should make us understand the need to eliminate the North-South divide and that boundaries are irrelevant,” President Ruto said.
Speaking during a virtual discussion with the Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees, President Ruto added.
“Kenya and the entire Horn of Africa have been ravaged by a four-year drought. Consequently, we have lost 2.5 million livestock and wildlife. “
The President said it is unfair that countries in the Global South borrow at higher interest rate than those in the Global North from the same institutions.
President Ruto said financing that fits the needs of Africa and the rest of the Global South is what stands between the countries and transformation.
“We must make it right for everyone. This is what will make the difference,” he said.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who was in the virtual discussion, said “the chickens have come home to roost”, with the effects of climate change being felt all over the world.
President Ruto thanked the Rockefeller Foundation for amplifying its voice on climate change and called on more organisations to follow suit.
He also disclosed that the Rockefeller Foundation will support Kenya’s climate conference in September ahead of COP 28 in Paris later in the year.
