The empowerment of girls and young women, promoted by a large number of development programmes and contraceptive awareness-raising campaigns, face many barriers that are rooted in local, societal and religious norms. “These deeply rooted resistances should not be underestimated”, explains Assiatou Diarra, a doctor and anthropologist from Niger in an article published by Le Monde diplomatique. Read on

This op-ed, published on the IPI Global Observatory, by Jorge Moreira da Silva, OECD director of the Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD) and Eric Rosand, director of the Prevention Project and Brookings non-resident senior fellow, calls upon governments and development partners to develop a new approach to development that prioritizes prevention. A stronger focus on prevention will require “a much more coherent effort among political, security, development, humanitarian and peace actors—recognizing that the challenges in fragile contexts are too big and too complex for one set of actors to tackle alone,” explain the authors. Read on

The French RFI radio programme “7 milliards de voisins” (7 billion neighbours) dedicated a special edition to the “The war against schools in the Sahel.” Several hundred schools in conflict-affected areas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have been closed due to the permanent threat of jihadist attacks. How can communities prevent armed groups from breaking into schools? How can ensure that children in these conflict-affected areas going to school? How can international partners help rebuild educational services? SWAC Secretariat Director Laurent Bossard shared his viewpoints. Read on

In this interview by Défis humanitaires, Jean-Marc Châtaigner, ambassador and France’s special envoy for the Sahel, takes stock of the security situation in the Sahel and analyses the key challenges facing the region. This interview provides a detailed explanation of the French government’s 3D concept - diplomacy, defense and development - which Châtaigner makes 4D by adding “droit” or law and advocating for a rights-based approach. Read on