ILO, UN: Jobs Key to Africa's Resilience

Decent jobs, skills development and local capacity building are essential to strengthen resilience and tackle the root causes of protracted crises in Africa, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) said at a high-level event during the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9).

The side event, entitled "Jobs and livelihoods, enhancing resilience: A means to address root causes of protracted crises", brought together governments, workers' and employers' organizations, UN agencies, academia and civil society. It showcased best practices aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, demonstrating how work-based solutions can reduce vulnerabilities, prevent crises and accelerate recovery.

Opening the event, André Bogui, ILO Assistant Director-General, stressed the importance of placing decent work at the centre of resilience strategies. "Lasting resilience requires going further. It means building inclusive labour markets through employment-intensive approaches, investing in local capacity, and ensuring long-term development outcomes," he said.

Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR, recalled that the Sendai Framework, adopted in 2015, is the global blueprint for reducing disaster losses by shifting from reactive response to proactive prevention. He added that: "Rather than focus only on physical assets and the restoration of old jobs, disaster recovery can be an opportunity to diversify livelihood options and to explore new, more viable and resilient sources of income," he noted.

Ambassador Nobuharu Imanishi of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs underlined how Japan's long experience with earthquakes, tsunamis and extreme weather events has shaped its approach to building resilience. "Infrastructure investment necessitates subsequent and constant maintenance works. This, in turn, fosters the accumulation of knowledge and expertise, which is also applicable to potential disaster recovery and reconstruction," he said.

Speakers representing employers and workers shared lessons from Japan's long experience with disasters. The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) emphasized the importance of preparedness through business continuity planning and innovation to safeguard employees and accelerate recovery. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO) highlighted the role of unions in mobilizing volunteers, fundraising, and ensuring protection for women and children in vulnerable situations. Both stressed that social dialogue and tripartite cooperation are indispensable for protecting lives and livelihoods while building resilient societies.

Closing the discussion, Fanfan Rwanyindo, ILO Regional Director for Africa, highlighted the transformative potential of employment-intensive approaches. "Many such projects also equip people with new skills, enabling them to find future employment or start their own businesses; key to creating sustainable exit pathways from public employment programmes," she said.

The event showcased how governments, workers, employers and development partners are already advancing innovative solutions across Africa, from local road-building projects to climate-resilient agriculture and skills training for marginalized groups. Participants agreed that scaling up such initiatives will be vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and advancing the commitments of the Sendai Framework, ensuring that resilience, decent work and social justice remain at the heart of Africa's development agenda.

TICAD, led by the Government of Japan since 1993, is a global platform promoting African ownership and international partnership for sustainable development. TICAD9 in Yokohama brought together heads of state, ministers, international organizations and social partners to advance Africa's development agenda, with this ILO-UNDRR side event highlighting the central role of decent work and resilience in that vision.