The world’s leaders, including five African presidents, met at the G7 Summit in Biarritz in France from 24-26 August 2019, and placed the fight against inequality at the heart of their discussions. Beyond the major global challenges (survival of the Amazon; global trade; stability in Iran, Libya and Hong Kong) the G7 agenda also included a strong focus on Africa. G7 leaders announced an USD 251 million package to support women entrepreneurs in Africa. France and Germany intend to launch the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel. Canada and Japan will join the Sahel Alliance as observers. What else has been decided at the Biarritz summit? Read on

The ECOWAS Commission organised a symposium on 5 August 2019 to brainstorm on how to achieve greater participation and representation of women, youth, and disadvantaged citizens in politics and electoral processes. Young people below the age of 25 make up more than two-thirds of the region’s population. Despite many efforts, women and the youth remain both largely underrepresented in politics. Read on

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

Oxfam published a new report on rising inequality in the Sahel. Beyond the many security, humanitarian and environmental challenges, the problems in the Sahel have their roots in the inequality and the strong sense of injustice among the region’s people, particularly young people. The report offers a series of recommendations in order to reduce inequality and deliver on the SDGs. They notably call upon Sahelian countries to uphold their commitments and allocate at least 20% of their national budgets to education and 15% to health. Moreover, the G5 Sahel should place more emphasis on development and governance. Read on