By Mohamed K. Fofanah
On Monday, September 23, 2024, a PI-CREF team led by the initiative’s chairman, Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, is in New York as part of the Sierra Leonean delegation to the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The team includes Mr. Peter M. Kaindaneh – Chief Technical Advisor and Mr. Anthony Kamara, Director of Partnerships, Communications and Outreach.
Among other bilateral meetings and high-level engagements, the team joined Chairman Yumkella in representing Sierra Leone as co-chair of the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation along with Norwegian Minister of Development- Anne Beathe Tvinnereim. The ACF is a strategic coalition of vanguard countries united by a shared ambition to transform food systems to deliver better outcomes for people, nature & climate.
Dr David Navarro, Founder of the SD Foundation, H.E. Ana Terra Ries, Secretary of Supply, Cooperativism, and Food Sovereignty, Ministry of Agrarian Development of Brazil, Guillaume Grosso, Deputy Executive Managing Director, CGIAR, Torgeir Fyhri, Norwegian Special Envoy for Food Security, Melinda Bohannon, Director General, Humanitarian and Development, FCDO, United Kingdom, Dr Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund, Caitlin Corner-Dolloff, Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and Agriculture, USAID, Emma Williams, Associate Fellow, Chatham House, Morgan Gillespy, Executive Director, Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), Florence Lasbennes, Managing Director, 4SD were among a diverse group of experts representing their countries and organizations.
Hon. Dr Yumkella also co-chaired the high-level session of the Global Council for Responsible Transition Minerals (GCRTM) hosted by the Paris Peace Forum, along with former Director-General of the World Trade Organization – Pascal Lammy and current Director-General for Energy at the European Commission. PI-CREF’s Anthony Kamara supports the work of the GCRTM as a Special Advisor.
As part of its mandate, PI-CREF mobilizes international partnerships and resources through its interactions with partners, donors, and investors to secure support and resources for the successful implementation of programmes. It also participates in high-level meetings, negotiations, and public engagements and effectively advocates for the establishment of effective policies, the use of climate-smart practices, and renewable energy solutions, and leverages innovative financing solutions to bridge the energy access gap.
