- AfDB has approved a one-year, demand-driven framework backed by up to $5.06 billion to help African countries manage the immediate impacts of the global energy and fertilizer crisis.
- The framework will stabilise economies, protect food and energy supplies, support vulnerable households and strengthen long-term resilience against future shocks.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved the Global Energy and Fertilizer Crisis Response Framework (GEFCRF), This is a new mechanism to help African countries respond to the economic and social pressures arising from the global energy and fertilizer crisis.
Approved on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, the framework will provide timely, targeted financing to countries facing immediate shocks while supporting measures to strengthen their resilience against future disruptions.
The GEFCRF builds on the Bank Group’s experience with its COVID-19 Response Facility and the African Emergency Food Production Facility. It is designed to provide immediate relief while laying the foundations for more self-reliant and resilient African economies.
The framework will be financed through an additional $4.1 billion in African Development Bank lending and up to $960 million from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. The additional resources will raise the Bank’s 2026 lending target to approximately $12.7 billion, expanding its capacity to provide support to countries affected by the crisis.
The response mechanism will be temporary, remaining valid for one year from the date of Board approval. It will subsequently be reviewed before any extension. Support will be demand-driven, with the scale and type of financing tailored to countries’ specific levels of vulnerability and the nature of the shocks they face.
The Bank said the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is creating significant external pressures for African economies, particularly through rising global prices for energy, food, fertilisers and other commodities. Many African countries remain heavily dependent on imports for these essential inputs, leaving them exposed to international price volatility and supply disruptions.
Disruptions to global trade routes and logistics, including key maritime corridors, are further intensifying the pressure by raising transport costs, delaying deliveries and exposing weaknesses across already fragile supply chains.
The GEFCRF will operate through four main pillars. The first pillar will stabilise macroeconomic conditions. It will provide rapid financing, short-term buffers and coordinated fiscal, monetary and debt policy responses during periods of crisis.
The second pillar will secure critical food, energy and fertilizer supplies. Emergency and trade finance will help maintain supplies and stabilise markets. Support will also target vulnerable populations.
The third pillar will protect essential spending and vulnerable households. Targeted social protection will focus particularly on women and youth. The approach will also reduce reliance on broad subsidies.
The fourth pillar will support longer-term resilience. This will include reforms to reduce dependence on volatile external markets. It will also support diversified supply chains and regional solutions.
“This framework is about listening and responding to the urgent needs of African countries, helping them protect households and vulnerable populations, keep food, fertilizer and energy systems functioning, and preserve hard-won development gains while building greater resilience for the future,” said Abdul Kamara, Acting Vice President for Country and Regional Operations.
“A crisis response must do more than cushion the shock. It must make countries stronger. That is exactly what this framework aims to achieve,” Kamara added.
Martin Fregene, Officer in Charge Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said the framework provides a mechanism to address the pressures facing African farmers as conflict in the Middle East disrupts global trade.
“The Bank’s new Global Energy and Fertilizer Crisis Response Framework gives us a way to respond to the pressures African farmers are facing as the conflict in the Middle East disrupts global trade,” Fregene said.
“When fertilizer becomes too expensive or difficult to find, farmers use less and harvests can suffer. Access to finance is part of the solution, helping businesses keep fertilizer moving to farmers, while we work to build stronger fertilizer markets and more local supply in Africa,” he added.