“Education is the only way to fight against early marriage,” declared President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso in his keynote address at the European Development Days (EDD2018), which were held on 5-6 June 2018 in Brussels. “Women and girls at the forefront of sustainable development: Protect, empower, invest” was the official topic of the 12th edition. Read on

According to the World Press Freedom Index 2018, which ranks 180 countries worldwide, the level of media freedom was categorised as “fairly good” in three West African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde and Ghana. These countries achieved better or similar scores than many OECD member countries. Read on

The 2018 Mo Ibrahim Forum Report paints a very poor picture of the state of Africa’s public services. The reports covers a variety of sectors -- from safety and security, health, education, climate change to justice -- and illustrates these issues with facts and figures. Nearly all African governments fail to deliver essential public services to their citizens; the demand for quality services is quickly rising, particularly in urban settings. A majority of African citizens are in favour of paying for public services. Read on

“Keeping power in check: Media, justice and the rule of law” was the global theme of the 25th edition of World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated every year on May 3. The international conference, co-organised by UNESCO, was hosted this year by the government of Ghana in Accra from 2-3 May in recognition of that country’s independent and pluralistic media landscape. Read on