AfDB Unveils $5.1bn Plan to Cushion Africa from Energy, Fertiliser Shocks
The Global Energy and Fertiliser Crisis Response Framework was approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors on September 1, 2026, to provide targeted financial support to countries facing immediate economic pressures while strengthening their resilience against future shocks.
The framework will be financed through an additional $4.1bn in African Development Bank lending and up to $960m from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm.
The additional funding will raise the Bank Group’s 2026 lending target to approximately $12.7bn.
According to the AfDB, the one-year framework is demand-driven, with assistance tailored to the vulnerability levels and specific needs of individual member countries. It will be reviewed after one year before any extension.
The Bank said the intervention was prompted by the continuing crisis in the Middle East, which has created external pressures on African economies through higher global prices for energy, food, fertiliser and other commodities.
It added that disruptions to international trade routes and logistics, including major maritime corridors, had further increased transport costs, delayed deliveries and exposed weaknesses in supply chains.
The framework will focus on four key areas, including stabilising macroeconomic conditions through rapid counter-cyclical financing, short-term buffers and coordinated fiscal, monetary and debt policy responses.
It will also seek to secure critical food, energy and fertiliser supplies through emergency and trade finance, while supporting vulnerable populations and stabilising markets.
Another pillar will focus on protecting essential public spending and vulnerable households through targeted social protection, particularly for women and youth, while reducing dependence on broad subsidies.
The fourth pillar will support medium- and long-term reforms aimed at reducing Africa’s dependence on volatile external energy, food and fertiliser markets, diversifying supply chains and strengthening fiscal resilience.
The Acting Vice President for Country and Regional Operations at the AfDB, Abdul Kamara, said the framework was designed to help countries protect households and vulnerable populations while keeping food, fertiliser and energy systems functioning.
The Bank’s Officer in Charge and Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Martin Fregene, said the framework would also support African farmers affected by disruptions to global trade.
Fregene noted that rising fertiliser costs could force farmers to reduce usage, potentially affecting harvests, and said access to finance would help businesses maintain the flow of fertiliser to farmers while efforts were made to strengthen local supply and markets.
The AfDB said the new framework builds on its experience with the COVID-19 Response Facility and the African Emergency Food Production Facility, combining immediate relief with measures aimed at creating more self-reliant and resilient African economies.
