Experts of the regional system for the prevention and management of food crises (PREGEC) met from 9 to 10 June in Abidjan to take stock of the food and nutrition situation in the region at the beginning of the lean season. They also discussed the prospects for the 2016-17 agro-pastoral campaign. The prognosis made at their last meeting in April was confirmed: the food and nutrition situation is satisfactory except in the Lake Chad Basin, which hosts a large number of displaced persons and refugees. Read on

West African ministers came together to outline a course of action to accelerate progress on the Great Green Wall. The First Conference of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative was held from 2-7 May in Dakar, bringing together ministers from countries north and south of the Sahara as well as their development partners. Organised by the African Union, the high-level conference follows on the COP21 climate change conference, during which the international community pledged an additional USD 4 billion in support for the Great Green Wall over the next 5 years. Read on

The first round of the presidential election in Chad was held on Sunday, 10 April. Some 6.3 million voters were called to vote in the 18 000 polling stations across the territory, and for the first time, a biometric system was put in place for the identification of voters. Incumbent President Idriss Deby, candidate of the Patriotic Salvation Movement who has completed four consecutive terms since 1990, could be re-elected for a fifth term in the first round. Read on

This Diploweb dossier dedicated to the regionalisation of the Islamic sect was prepared on the occasion of the 8th edition of the Grenoble Festival of Geopolitics: African Dynamics. According to the author, many analysts exaggerate the political influence of Boko Haram, which remains “relatively poor in resources”. Its military success can be mostly explained by the failure of the Nigerian government. The dossier provides an overview of facts and figures as well as a timeline of key events. Read on