UNESCO, in collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Co-operation (AICS), launched on 13 July 2019 in Dakar a project on migration issues. Covering eight countries, the 3-million EUR project aims to better inform young people in West and Central Africa about the opportunities and challenges of international migration. The project will focus on capacity-building activities for young journalists and media representatives with a view to producing reliable information and creating a more balanced coverage of migration issues. Read on

According to 2018 data from 30 member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), official development assistance (ODA) has fallen by 2.7% since 2017. However, ODA remains a crucial pillar of development finance, particularly in the Sahel and West Africa. In 2017, the 17 Sahel and West African countries received a total of USD 13.9 billion in ODA, representing 9.5% of all ODA given. Read on

Polygamy has declined in the last decade but remains common in West Africa. For example, 33% of women in Nigeria reported that their husbands have more than one wife (Demographic and Health Survey, 2013). Six West African countries have civil codes that formally prohibit polygamy (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria) but legal restrictions are rarely enforced. Read on

The autonomous Port of Lomé has overtaken Lagos and is now West Africa’s leading port with a capacity of 1.1 million twenty-foot containers (TEU). Thanks to modernisation reforms, the Port of Lomé tripled its capacity from 311 500 containers in 2013 to 1.1 million in 2017. Nigeria’s Apapa Port in Lagos (1 million TEU) lost 30% of its container traffic over five years due to chronic congestion and the poor quality of its services. Other West African ports have stagnated. Tema in Ghana (0.95 million TEU) maintains rank 3, followed by Abidjan (0.66 million TEU) and Dakar (0.57 million TEU). Read on