By Henry Neondo | African civil society organisations have welcomed the Africa Forward Summit 2026 Nairobi Declaration while cautioning African governments and international partners against implementing development and climate agendas that fail to prioritise communities, equity, and justice.
In a joint response issued after the Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi on May 12, the African Coalition of Communities Responsive to Climate Change (ACCRCC) in Nairobi, Kenya, Shine Collab in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Pragmatic Social Action in Uganda have given their response to the declaration’s emphasis on African-led development, green industrialisation, renewable energy, digital transformation, and reform of the global financial architecture.
The summit, convened under the theme “Africa Forward: Africa-France Partnership for Growth and Innovation,” brought together African leaders, representatives of the French government, financial institutions, and development partners to discuss peace and security, agriculture, health systems, energy transition, digital transformation, trade, and financing for development.
The declaration positions Africa as a future global hub for innovation, industrialisation, and sustainable growth while committing to stronger Africa-France cooperation based on mutual respect and co-development.
However, the three organisations warned that ambitious declarations alone would not deliver meaningful transformation unless governments and development partners place frontline communities at the centre of implementation.
“The true test of this partnership will lie not in the language of diplomacy, but in practical implementation that directly benefits women, Indigenous peoples, youth, smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, and communities already facing the harsh realities of climate change and economic inequality,” the organisations said in the statement.
The groups particularly welcomed commitments to renewable energy expansion, clean cooking, green industrialisation, and fair climate financing, but warned that Africa’s green transition risks reproducing extractive economic systems if communities are excluded from ownership and decision-making.
“Africa’s critical minerals, renewable energy resources, forests, and biodiversity must not become the basis for another cycle of exploitation under the banner of green development,” the statement noted.
The organisations called for stronger safeguards to protect Indigenous land rights, ecological systems, and local communities affected by energy and infrastructure projects.
They further urged African governments to ensure that climate financing reaches grassroots communities rather than being concentrated in large-scale projects that often displace vulnerable populations.
The civil society response also criticised what it described as insufficient attention to climate justice within the summit declaration, despite Africa contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions while suffering disproportionately from droughts, floods, food insecurity, and displacement.
The groups demanded increased grant-based climate finance, operationalisation of the global Loss and Damage Fund, debt relief linked to climate vulnerability, and stronger protection for environmental defenders and climate activists across the continent.
On agriculture, the organisations supported commitments to agroecology, climate-smart agriculture, and local value chains but warned against overreliance on industrial agribusiness models that marginalise smallholder farmers and Indigenous food systems.
“Africa’s food future depends on agroecology, seed sovereignty, equitable land systems, and support for women farmers and local markets,” the statement added.
The organisations also weighed in on the summit’s commitments to digital transformation and artificial intelligence governance.
While welcoming efforts to support African digital sovereignty, local AI systems, and open-source technologies, they cautioned against the risks of surveillance, data exploitation, misinformation, and digital exclusion.
They called for rights-based AI governance frameworks, affordable internet access, digital literacy, and stronger protections for data privacy and African intellectual property.
The joint response further highlighted concerns over the continent’s debt burden and the global financial system. While acknowledging the declaration’s support for IMF reforms, concessional financing, and fairer representation for Africa in global financial institutions, the groups argued that structural inequalities in trade, taxation, and illicit financial flows continue to undermine Africa’s development prospects.
“Development financing must prioritise human wellbeing over profit maximisation,” the organisations stated.
The Africa Forward Summit declaration repeatedly referred to building “partnerships of equals” between Africa and France. Civil society groups, however, stressed that genuine partnerships require transparency, community participation, fair trade relations, and respect for African sovereignty beyond diplomatic rhetoric.
The organisations concluded by affirming their readiness to collaborate with governments, regional bodies, and development partners to advance a climate-resilient, economically sovereign, and socially just Africa.
The Africa Forward Summit comes at a time when African countries are increasingly seeking greater control over their natural resources, industrialisation agendas, climate financing negotiations, and global economic representation amid growing geopolitical competition and shifting international alliances.
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