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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

31 Jul 2019

How can the demographic transition in the Sahel be achieved?

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Opinion:

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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

20 Jul 2019

Creating opportunities for rural youth

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Agriculture & Fisheries

Children & Youth

Climate & Climate change

Culture & Society

Development co-operation

Food security & Nutrition

Gender

Urban-rural development

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Where do rural youth live and how do they engage with the economy? How can young rural women be empowered? How can rural youth prosper in changing agrifood systems? What makes climate change a youth issue? The IFAD Rural Development Report 2019 analyses key challenges of the rural transformation process and opportunities available to rural youth while encouraging thinking differently about investing in rural youth. Read on

13 Jul 2019

UNESCO, Italia launch media campaign on migration issues

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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

06 Jul 2019

Sahel: Fighting inequality to respond to development and security challenges

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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

28 Jun 2019

Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative

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Children & Youth

Development co-operation

Economy

Industry

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Switzerland

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The Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research has launched an initiative to support entrepreneurs and start-up companies active in the fields of mobile health, pharmacometrics, innovative financing or digital humanities (knowledge transfer) in sub-Saharan Africa. More particularly, the Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative (SABII) aims to boost the entrepreneurial know-how and exposure of sub-Saharan graduate students. Read on

10 May 2019

Nigeria: Nearly 900 child soldiers released

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According to UNICEF, a total of 894 children, including 106 girls, were released from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria, on 10 May. The CJTF was formed in 2013 a local militia that supports security forces in the fight against insurgency in northeastern Nigeria and protects communities from attack. The release is part of CJTF’s commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children. Read on

03 May 2019

Merkel’s West African tour

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Development co-operation

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Following Merkel’s business-focused West Africa tour in August 2018 of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, the German chancellor came back to the region for a three-day tour of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on 1-3 May. This time, discussions focused on security and counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel. Chancellor Merkel participated in the G5 Sahel Extraordinary Summit on 1 May in Ouagadougou. Germany pledged an additional EUR 46 million for Burkina Faso and EUR 35 million for Niger to support development projects and to pay for security force equipment and training. Read on

31 Mar 2019

Women suffering from anaemia – a major challenge

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Children & Youth

Food security & Nutrition

Gender

Health

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SWAC

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Anaemia is reaching extremely high levels in the Sahel and West Africa. Fourteen countries in the region have a prevalence of over 40% (severe) among women of reproductive age. Twelve West African countries feature among the twenty countries with the highest prevalence in the world. Globally, the prevalence of anaemia reduced between 1995 and 2011, from 33% to 29% among non-pregnant women and from 43% to 38% among pregnant women. Read on

10 Mar 2019

Voter turnout in West Africa

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Voter turnout is a key indicator of the vitality of a democracy. It helps measure the trust that citizens place in their political institutions and politicians, and shows how citizens participate in the governance of their country. While the global average voter turnout has decreased significantly since the 1990s, registered voter participation in Africa’s still-fragile democracies has varied widely between countries and over time. Nigeria is the most striking example. Read on

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Children & Youth

Africa at the G7 Summit in Biarritz

How can the demographic transition in the Sahel be achieved?

Creating opportunities for rural youth

UNESCO, Italia launch media campaign on migration issues

Sahel: Fighting inequality to respond to development and security challenges

Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative

Nigeria: Nearly 900 child soldiers released

Merkel’s West African tour

Women suffering from anaemia – a major challenge

Voter turnout in West Africa

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