Debt-Pushing as Financial Inclusion

Ajay Banga was anointed World Bank president for promoting financial inclusion. Thanks to its success and interest rate hikes, more poor people are drowning in debt as consumer prices rise.

Small Islands with Big Aspirations

Everyone knows that small island states are on the frontline of global warming. Rising sea levels, acidification destroying fisheries and coral reefs, and changing patterns of rainfall are just some of the challenges. Some low-lying islands have already been lost to the ocean.

Informal Workers Key to Successful Waste Management in Africa

With the African continent recycling less than 11 percent of its waste, COP28 provided leaders on the African continent to consider integrated waste systems that include informal waste workers.

The Human Cost of a Green Energy Transition Without Safeguards

The world is moving away from fossil fuels towards so-called “green” energies as a solution to the climate crisis, which has increased the demand for strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium.

Innovative Business Models, Critical for African Governments to Unlock Carbon Markets

With current efforts to boost Africa's carbon credit production by 2030, experts believe the commitments will require Governments to switch from a voluntary to a compliance market by generating renewable energy for a portion of national and regional electricity supplies.

Nigerian Women Challenge ‘Colonialist’ Patriarchy

Bukes Saliu wakes up very early every workday to beat the gruesome Lagos traffic to head to a job quite unusual for a woman to engage in Nigeria. She is a forklift operator in one of the busy depots in the coastal city, a task traditionally meant for men in the West African country.

Zimbabwe’s Food Security Ambitions in El Niño’s Crosshairs

Zimbabwe is riding a wave of food security assurances after what officials said was last year’s bumper grain harvest, but recent El Niño forecasts could test the country’s agriculture production ambitions.

African Coups and Resource Rights

When the heads of state of all United Nations members spoke in front of the UN General Assembly last week, a number of African leaders were not able to attend, having been removed from office in military-led coups.

The Ocean Offers Rich Solutions for Climate Change

For the people of Seychelles, the ocean is more than just a source of livelihood. It is also a way of life. About 80% of our homes and infrastructure are located along the coast and those homes and infrastructures are impacted by the ocean in various ways.

The Bitter-Sweet Sides of Uganda’s Oil and Gas Development

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are moving with pace in the development of oil and gas projects with a potential investment portfolio estimated at more than USD 15 billion. IPS looks at the project's human rights record for the compensation of affected communities.

Why Root Crops Are the Future of Food Security in Africa

Despite the dominance of the “Big Three” cereal crops and a steady rise in meat consumption, an overlooked food sector is projected to become ever more central to Africa’s food security and rural economic growth between now and 2050.

Carbon Colonialism Has No Place in Liberia’s Forests

The fate of Liberia and its forests are entwined. Yet a new climate change deal, set to be announced at the UN climate change talks in Dubai this November, would drive a wedge between our communities and their woodlands.

African Agro-Processors Call for Policies Conducive to Local Manufacturing

Experts at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, have called on African governments to make and review existing policies to protect the processing and agro-industrialisation of locally produced agricultural products.

Gabon: The End of a Dictatorship… and the Beginning of Another?

On 26 August, Gabon went through the motions of an election. Official results were announced four days later, in the middle of the night, with the country under curfew. Predictably, incumbent President Ali Bongo, in power since the death of his father and predecessor in 2009, was handed a third term. Fraud allegations were rife, as in previous elections. But this time something unprecedented happened: less than an hour later the military had taken over, and the Bongo family’s 56-year reign had ended.

The Africa Climate Summit: Anti-Colonial Rhetoric Meets Green Colonialism

In the wake of the recent Africa Climate Summit, which convened in Nairobi from September 4-6, 2023, the world’s attention was drawn to the pressing challenges facing the African continent as it grapples with the devastating effects of climate change.

African Women’s Reproductive Rights under Threat: Global Pushback Puts Lives at Risk

Almost 30 years ago in 1994, the world witnessed a historic event as 179 nations convened on African soil, in Cairo, for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Africa Finds Common Ground on Climate as Nairobi Declaration Unveiled

To cool down a burning planet, Africa’s Head of State and Government at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit unveiled the ‘Nairobi Declaration’ as curtains fell on the inaugural Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi, September 4-6, 2023, under the theme “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World.”

African Startups Mull Home-Grown Solutions to Combat Climate Change

A group of young African startups made their presence known at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, hoping to play a big role in promoting home-grown climate-oriented solutions.

Hunger in East Africa Is a True Testament to Climate Injustice

From 2017, Shamso Isac has helplessly witnessed the demise of all her sources of income. Failed rain seasons and dried-up water sources meant a lack of pasture, which led to the death of her livestock. Widespread hunger exacerbated by rising food costs forced her to relocate to Burlhedi internally displaced persons camp in Baidoa in the Southwest state of Somalia. She recalls walking for weeks seeking a place she could get food for her family. When her child asks for something to eat or drink, she has nothing to offer; all she can do is cry, overwhelmed by the utter hopelessness she feels.

NDB Spotlight: The Lesotho Highlands Water Project – Who Benefits?

The Role of the New Development Bank in Monitoring Project Impacts on Communities The 15th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa this month has once again put the spotlight on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) as a shining example of multilateralism and the New Development Bank’s (NDB)commitment to financing sustainable development projects within BRICS countries and other developing countries. During the 2023 BRICS Summit, the New Development Bank and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) signed a 3.2 billion Rands loan agreement for the implementation of Phase Two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) in Lesotho. This funding complements contributions by other financiers, notably the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

Toothless Global Financial Architecture Fuelling Africa’s Climate Crisis

As thousands convene in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, for the Africa Climate Summit, the first time the African Union has summoned its leaders to solely discuss climate change under the theme ‘Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World’, the backdrop is a country on the frontlines of a climate crisis.