October 20, 2023
Africa: To Attain the SDGs, We Must End Female Genital Mutilation
The tips of our fingers have densely packed nerve endings. That is why a miniscule paper cut activates our pain receptors and causes stubborn pain for a day or two. Now consider… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Seniors Thriving Through Plastic Waste in Zimbabwe
They do not have a pension nor financial support from families or relatives, but they have themselves. Now they have become collectors of plastic waste, which they turn into… Read more »
October 19, 2023
Africa: Big Changes Coming to the World Bank - But It's Not Enough
It's official: The World Bank officially has a mission to combat climate change. At least on paper. Read more »
October 18, 2023
Egypt: Govt Sacrifices Part of Unesco Site for Road Development
The Egyptian government is clearing a vast area in Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to make way for new main roads and flyover bridges, which it says will improve… Read more »
October 17, 2023
East Africa: Women Hold the Key to Success of Pastoralism
Women in pastoralist areas of East Africa are critical to the health of livestock in their communities, holding the key to effective animal vaccination campaigns meant to protect… Read more »
October 13, 2023
Africa: Behind Each Climate Disaster Awaits a Tuberculosis Crisis
At the end of September, two weeks after the United Nations held a High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (TB), a torrential storm dropped 6" of rain on New York City. The intensity of… Read more »
Africa: Seize Opportunity to End Last Major Mercury Device
As the Minamata Convention on Mercury's fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5) approaches, momentum builds to adopt the Africa Region's proposed amendment to phase out dental… Read more »
October 11, 2023
Africa: Beware Climate Finance Charade
Finance has increased, not reduced, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meanwhile, funding for mitigation, and especially adaptation, is grossly inadequate, with little for climate… Read more »
October 10, 2023
Kenya: Kenyan Scientist Elected Chair of Inter-Governmental Biodiversity Body
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) recently elected David Obura as Chair. The coral reef expert will serve a 3-year term… Read more »
Africa: To End Child Marriage in Southern & East Africa, Governments Need to Strengthen Laws & Implementation
Almost one third (32%) of women aged 20 to 24 in Eastern and Southern Africa - around 50 million - were married before 18 years old. To address this pervasive problem, the Southern… Read more »
October 09, 2023
Africa: Faced With Crushing Debts, World's Poorest Nations to Slash Public Spending By Over 229 Billion Dollars
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are returning to Africa, for the first time in decades, with the "same old failed message". Read more »
Africa: Effective International Aid Depends On the Application of Girl-Centered Design
In a year that is rapidly becoming the costliest on record for climate-related disasters, the International Day of the Girl Child appeals to the global community for greater… Read more »
October 05, 2023
Africa: Our Teachers, Our Heroes
Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Statement on World Teachers' Day Read more »
October 04, 2023
Africa: UN's High-Level Appointments Should Give Priority to Gender in Geographical Rotation
The UN's high-level appointments have mostly been on the basis of "equitable geographical rotation"--with Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Latin America and the… Read more »
Africa: Wanted - Teachers for Change!
Once a year, on October 5, we celebrate World Teachers' Day. Why is it so important to have a closer look on the teaching profession? What is so special about being a teacher… Read more »
Africa: 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… Read more »
October 02, 2023
Africa: 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… Read more »
Africa: 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… Read more »
Ghana: Peacekeeper Cecilia Erzuah Promotes Gender Equality By Example
Cecilia Erzuah was torn between two opposite career paths at the end of university. The week she was supposed to begin military training, her professor offered her a position as a… Read more »
Seychelles: 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… Read more »
September 28, 2023
Nigeria: 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… Read more »
September 27, 2023
Zimbabwe: 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… Read more »
Africa: Don't Count On Public-Private Partnership Solutions
In recent years, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have spread rapidly. While usually profitable for the private partners, PPPs have generally not served the longer-term public… Read more »
September 26, 2023
Africa: Alarm Bells Are Ringing At Halfway Point of the 2030 Agenda
The world is now half way to 2030 but the ambitious goals agreed in 2015 including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are under threat, action is… Read more »
September 25, 2023
Africa: Beyond Words - the Urgent Call for the U.S. to Address Global Inequality Through Climate Action
With its global representation, one would expect the UN General Assembly to touch on many diverse issues. And it does. But talks have repeatedly come back to one unifying call: if… Read more »