Achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic:

First and foremost, we must recognise that many countries around the world are not only recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. In my country of Zimbabwe, we are still recovering from a devastating cyclone that occurred in 2019, which pre-dates the pandemic.

Extreme weather phenomena such as rising temperatures and the increasing frequency of droughts and floods are affecting lives and livelihoods in Africa. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, five African countries ranked among the 10 countries most affected by extreme weather in 2019: Mozambique (first), Zimbabwe (second), Malawi (fifth), South Sudan (eighth), and Niger (ninth).