Washington, D.C., October 9, 2008 -- It is estimated that over four million voluntary immigrants of African origin reside in the West. This “voluntary†Diaspora is distinct from the vastly larger “involuntary†Diaspora that populates North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Brazil. On matters of African development, however, the interests of both groups often intersect.
In recent years, the Africa Union has provided the impetus and framework for the study and analysis of the African Diaspora, its interaction with Africa, and the consequences of that interaction. The continental body views the step as necessary to help Africa achieve the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight goals identified by the United Nations to help alleviate poverty by the year 2015.
The African Union defines the Diaspora as “people of African Origin living outside the continent, irrespective of citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and building of the African Union†and has called on the World Bank to help. In response, the World Bank launched its African Diaspora program in September 2007 and has been using its convening power and information and technology resources to help Africa engage its Diaspora. The Bank is also keen to engage with other development partners to help further Diaspora efforts on the continent.
Africa’s Human Resources
Reliable data show that more than a third of Africa’s highly qualified human resources live outside of Africa. About a half of African Ph.D. students in the United States and Canada remain in the West upon completion of their studies. This is reflected in the number of African professors in U.S. academic institutions as well as the number of African doctors in U.S. hospitals. Chicago, for example, has more Ethiopian doctors than there are doctors in the entire nation of Ethiopia.
In 2007, the estimate of documented remittance flows from the Diaspora to sub-Saharan African was about $11 billion, according to the World Bank’s Development Economics Unit. The remittances supplemented household consumption, and were invested in family businesses. In addition, Diaspora networks have supported a wide array of public projects such as schools and health facilities, and professional networks share information with their peers back home and sometimes provide direct service.
“ Africa has a huge capacity gap that can be bridged by tapping the expertise of the African Diaspora,†said Ms. Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region. “The African Diaspora is predisposed and interested in engaging with the continent and development partners would be ill advised to ignore the opportunity to work with them.â€
Diaspora Giving Back
Engaging the African Diaspora is imperative if Africa is to enjoy lasting and sustainable economic development, according to Ken Johnson, principal of Devconia, LLC, a Diaspora-owned international development firm.
“[Members of the Diaspora] bring legitimate insight as well as a strong cultural component and texture necessary for the successful design and implementation of development projects,†he said.
Collins Nweke is general secretary of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe. He said the organization sees more and more high-end Nigerians volunteering their human and capital resources in the pursuit of national development.
"It is uplifting that a good number of Nigerian Diaspora who owe their high quality education in the West to scholarships and bursaries from home government, are now seeking ways and means of giving back to their country,†he said.
World Bank Efforts to Engage Diaspora
The World Bank’s strategy to engage the African Diaspora focuses on three pillars: working with the African Union Commission (AUC) and providing technical support to its African Diaspora program, w orking with partner country governments to assist in creating the “enabling environments†for Diaspora engagement, and working with development partners to establish a mechanism to provide grant and technical assistance support to Diaspora development projects in Africa. As part of this, the Bank has undertaken the following:
In November 2007, an Open House for the African Diaspora was held at Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. Several hundred participants spent a full day discussing ways in which the Diaspora could aid in African development.
A high-level seminar of the African Diaspora under the auspices of the Joint African Institute (JAI) and the World Bank was held in South Africa in February 2008.
In May 2008, a workshop for Diaspora entitled “Understanding the World Bank Group – How to do Business Togetherâ€, was held at the Bank in Washington, DC to provide Diaspora with relevant information on engaging with the World Bank. The response was very encouraging.
In June 2008, the Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) was held in Brussels, Belgium. Over 500 businesses submitted proposals. A jury awarded nearly $1 million to sixteen projects in 11 African countries.
In July 2008, the Bank signed an agreement with the AU in Washington, D.C., to assist in the development of the AU’s capacity to focus on Diaspora issues.
In September 2008, the AU launched the African Diaspora Health Initiative aimed at linking specific health expertise among Africans in the Diaspora with health needs in designated geographical locations in Africa. Also, in September, World Bank Group President Zoellick and Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU, signed an Memorandum of Understanding that includes partnering on Diaspora engagement.
The Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in North America (D-MADA) is under preparation for North American Diaspora and will be launched later in 2008.
Through its activities, the World Bank hopes to develop policies of engagement with the Diaspora in order to serve as a catalyst of activities by the Diaspora as individuals, groups or networks.
The Bank has many lessons to draw from having closely followed, studied, and analyzed similar trends in Asia and Latin America.
