Increased Demand for Cobalt Fuels Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The demand for cobalt and other minerals is fueling a decades-long humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In pursuit of money to support their families, Congolese laborers face abuse and life-threatening conditions working in unregulated mines.

Managing Underdevelopment: What Two Decades of ODA Debt Reveal

Imagine investing US$14 billion, or even slightly less, to achieve universal literacy in 17 African countries where more than half the adult population still cannot read or write . Pair that with another US$36 billion to connect Africa’s landlocked nations through 12,000 kilometres of new railway lines along priority transport corridors.

A New Solar Power Plant Powers Progress in Zimbabwe’s Renewable Energy Sector

When load shedding was introduced over the past two years, Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa had to deal with learning disruptions worsened by the backup generators in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

Climate and Health: Urgent Need for Adaptation Strategies in Africa

In recent years, there has been growing evidence of how climate change is impacting human health in several ways.

The Cost of Conservation—How Tanzania Is Erasing the Maasai Identity

On the vast plains of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), the sight of young Maasai men in bright shawls, wielding sticks as they herd cattle, has long symbolized peaceful coexistence with nature. These herders, moving in harmony with zebras and wildebeests, are inseparable from the landscape. But today, that very identity—nurtured for generations—is under siege.

Tanzania and Uganda: Bad Places To Be an Opposition Politician

In East Africa's Tanzania and Uganda, political tensions are rising as they prepare for the next elections. Tanzania goes to the polls in October 2025, while Uganda’s presidential and general elections will take place early in 2026.

Regaining Progress on Birth Registration Is Critical to Child Protection

Registering the birth of a newborn, which is taken for granted in many countries, has profound lifelong repercussions for a child’s health, protection, and well-being. But after initially increasing this century, the global birth registration rate has declined in the past ten years, with some countries in the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa facing significant challenges. Embracing new registration technologies, increasing political will, and increasing parents’ understanding of its importance are paramount to reversing the trend.

Tanzania Champions Aquatic Foods at UN Ocean Conference in Nice

With less than six harvest seasons left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the urgency to find transformative solutions to end hunger, protect the oceans, and build climate resilience dominated the ninth panel session at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

Education Cannot Wait for the Children of Africa

As we commemorate International Day of the African Child, we honor the courage, resilience and dreams of millions of children and youth across Africa. Their potential is limitless, their right to a quality education is non-negotiable.

The Risk of Famine Looms Throughout Multiple Sudanese Counties

Over the course of 2025, the food security situation in Sudan has taken a considerable turn for the worst. Compounded by the Sudanese Civil War, millions of civilians face alarming levels of food insecurity and are at risk of experiencing famine. Humanitarian experts have described the situation in Sudan as being the worst hunger crisis in the world today.

Reviving Mangroves at the Edge of Mozambique Channel

Just before dawn, a flotilla of wooden canoes drifts silently  through mangrove-tangled channels where roots sprout from the black mud of the lagoon. Here, at the edge between sea and forest, lies a story of restoration.

Biggest-Ever Aid Cut by G7 Members a Death Sentence for Millions of People

Aid cuts could cost millions of lives and leave girls, boys, women and men without access to enough food, water, education, health treatment. G7 countries are making deliberate and deadly choices by cutting life-saving aid, enabling atrocities, and reneging on their international commitments

Mexico, Spain, East Africa, Awarded For their Ecosystem Restoration Programs

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized three countries and regions for their large-scale programs to restore their native ecosystems.

Ocean Action Boosted in Africa as Biodiversity Leaders Call for Urgent Synergy, Funding Reform

As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum—and funding—to deliver on long-standing promises.

UNOC3: A Cry for Global Action to Save Small-Scale Fisheries

Just before dawn, the worn wooden dhows begin gliding toward the shore at Magogoni fish market in Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam. Their tattered sails flutter against the orange sky. Exhausted fishers step out onto the muddy sand, hauling frayed nets and plastic crates, their sun-creased faces tight with fatigue.

Waves of Change: From the Glittering Shores of Nice to Struggling Seaweed Farmers in Zanzibar

The late afternoon sun sparkles on the waters of the French Riviera as yachts dock at the Port of Nice with mechanical grace. A tram glides past palm-lined boulevards, where joggers, drenched in sweat, huff past leisurely strollers and sunbathers. Just beside the promenade, a crowd gathers around a young girl. With braided hair bouncing in rhythm, she belts out Beyoncé’s Halo with stunning precision. Her bare feet dance on the cobblestones, her voice echoing against the pastel façades.

How to Spur Economic Growth in Africa’s Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

More than half of sub-Saharan Africa’s population lives in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS)—economies that face profound challenges such as stagnant economic growth, weak institutions, inadequate public services, extreme poverty, war, and forced internal displacement.

Girls in Kenya Are Repurposing the Invasive Mathenge Tree Into Furniture

Char Tito is hammering nails into wood at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School in Turkana County, northern Kenya. The 16-year-old is making a traditional chair under the scorching sun outside one of the classroom blocks.

Hundreds of Cholera Cases Are Declared Per Day in Sudan

A particularly virulent outbreak of cholera was detected in the Khartoum State of Sudan and is a direct result of the Sudanese Civil War, warns the United Nations.

The Africa Our Youth and Women Want

History rarely remembers those who waited quietly. In Africa, it is those who dare to act, to resist, to lead, and to dream aloud who have shaped the continent’s most defining moments.

Africa in Control of Its Digital Future: Mobilising Domestic Resources & Strategic Partnerships

As political, financial and social leaders met on 27 May 2025 in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, for the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the continent stands at a crucial turning point. Digitalisation can be the engine of inclusive and resilient development, but only if approached with local leadership and strategic vision.