Sixth Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Partnership Forum

As part of the Africa Climate Talks, ahead of the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development in Kampala, Uganda

Jointly organized by GCA and the AfDB, the Forum will provide the platform to take stock of the first phase of the AAAP and showcase results achieved towards doubling down on adaptation action and supporting Africa’s sustainable development and resilience-building.

Context

Africa finds itself on the frontline of the climate emergency, with countries on the continent experiencing some of the highest vulnerability levels in the world. The continent requires urgent and transformational adaptation measures to build resilience to climate risks and deliver on broader sustainable development benefits. Meanwhile, climate adaptation finance patterns show that financing flows to the continent must drastically be scaled up to meet these needs.

With a global right-wing shift, it becomes even more critical that climate financing for Adaptation remains high on the agenda, as the world grapples with the risk of not losing the goal of limiting global temperatures. CoP29 adaptation-related outcomes further showed increased need for resilience-building initiatives to support in unlocking further public or private finance in climate-vulnerable regions.
 
In response to these gaps, the Global Center on Adaptation and the African Development Bank launched the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), which has climate-proofed $8.4 billion in investments from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) across 30 African countries, boosting climate resilience in food production, infrastructure, urban development, and job creation. Through these interventions, enhanced climate adaptation investment needs can help unlock adaptation financing.
 
Since being launched in 2021, the AAAP has been implemented using a consultative approach, alongside its partners and stakeholders, through annual partnership fora.  These Partnership Fora have brought together various members of the Adaptation and AAAP stakeholder community to showcase the progress of the Program, gather insights and lessons learned for improvement, thereby providing a platform for exchange, and learning between stakeholders.
 
As 2025 marks the closing of the Program’s initial phase, the Global Center on Adaptation, in collaboration with the African Development Bank, seeks to lay the ground for the next phase of the program in a consultative manner, while showcasing its earlier results.

Objectives
The Sixth AAAP Partnership Forum, will provide the platform to take stock of the first phase of the AAAP and showcase results achieved towards doubling down on adaptation action and supporting Africa’s sustainable development and resilience-building, including through the creation of sustainable jobs and the enhancing of economic resilience as a determining pre-condition for optimal growth. It will likewise enable concrete feedback on the second phase of the program, ensuring that adaptation financing for the most vulnerable are met. Specifically, this session should serve the following goals:

• Showcase how the AAAP is contributing to elevate adaptation on the global agenda by promoting economic resilience for African countries through embedding adaptation in investments on the continent.
• Showcase the work accomplished during the first phase of the AAAP, in supporting to address the adaptation funding gap.
• Identify opportunities for enhanced programming on the program’s second phase, including increased support for adaptation finance negotiations, within the context of post cop29 outcomes, as well as support for adequately tracking adaptation progress.
• Consult on, and socialize the second phase of the Program, ensuring that beneficiaries’ and partners’ needs and expectations.

Speakers