AfDB Unveils $5.1bn Response Plan for Africa’s Energy, Fertiliser Crisis

By Adedapo Adesanya

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a new response framework, providing up to $5.1 billion in financing to help African countries cushion the impact of the global energy and fertiliser crisis and strengthen their resilience to future shocks.

The Global Energy and Fertilizer Crisis Response Framework (GEFCRF), approved by the bank’s board on September 1, 2026, comprises an additional $4.1 billion in AfDB lending and up to $960 million from the African Development Fund, the group’s concessional lending arm.

The additional resources will raise the group’s 2026 lending target to about $12.7 billion, enabling it to provide targeted support to countries affected by rising energy, food and fertiliser costs.

The framework, which will initially run for one year from the date of approval, is designed to provide immediate relief while supporting longer-term measures to build more resilient and self-reliant African economies.

The lender said the initiative was prompted by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, which has created fresh external pressures on African economies through higher global prices for energy, food, fertiliser and other commodities.

Disruptions to global trade routes and logistics, including key maritime corridors, have also increased transportation costs, delayed deliveries and heightened supply chain vulnerabilities across the continent.

The framework will provide demand-driven support based on the vulnerability of individual countries and will operate across four key areas: macroeconomic stabilisation; securing critical food, energy and fertiliser supplies; protecting essential public spending and vulnerable households; and sustaining reforms aimed at building medium- to long-term resilience.

Mr Abdul Kamara, Acting Vice President for Country and Regional Operations at the AfDB, said the framework was designed to help countries protect households and vulnerable populations while maintaining critical food, fertiliser and energy systems.

“This framework is about listening and responding to the urgent needs of African countries, helping them protect households and vulnerable populations, keep food, fertiliser and energy systems functioning, and preserve hard-won development gains while building greater resilience for the future,” Mr Kamara said.

He added that the crisis response must go beyond cushioning the immediate impact of the shocks by strengthening countries’ capacity to withstand future disruptions.

Mr Martin Fregene, Officer in Charge of the Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said the framework would also help address the pressures facing African farmers as disruptions to global trade affect fertiliser availability and prices.

“When fertiliser becomes too expensive or difficult to find, farmers use less and harvests can suffer,” Mr Fregene said, adding that access to finance would help businesses maintain the flow of fertiliser to farmers while efforts continue to develop stronger fertiliser markets and increase local supply in Africa.

The GEFCRF builds on the bank’s experience with its COVID-19 Response Facility and the African Emergency Food Production Facility, combining short-term crisis support with measures aimed at reducing African countries’ exposure to volatile external energy, food and fertiliser markets.