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The document asserts that gender equality is essential for achieving universal energy access by 2030, noting that women reinvest up to 90% of their income into community livelihoods. It provides a framework of recommendations for renewable energy (RE) companies to use gender-disaggregated data and promote female leadership, and for investors to fund capacity building and digital tools for women. The paper illustrates these points through three case studies: a solar irrigation project in Jharkhand, India; the DESFERS vocational training programme in the Sahel region; and a female-led solar enterprise in Maharashtra, India.

The IAAT project aims to support 431,700 direct beneficiaries in Mali by promoting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and agroforestry. The initiative focuses on improving extension services, developing inclusive value chains, and deploying low-carbon technologies such as solar irrigation and biodigesters. It targets a total GHG emission reduction of 2,446,543 tCO2eq over 15 years and the planting of 91,285 hectares of agroforestry trees. The project is implemented by Save the Children in collaboration with the Government of Mali, leveraging a Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) approach and synergies with the USAID-funded Albarka project.

On 24 February 2025, the UN Security Council and General Assembly passed three resolutions on Ukraine, revealing significant fractures in Western unity and a strategic shift in the Global South's approach. While Europe continues to demand Russian accountability and territorial integrity, the Trump administration has pivoted toward de-escalation and negotiations, leading the US to abstain from or oppose resolutions with harsh condemnatory language. Concurrently, Global South nations, including South Africa, India, and Brazil, are increasingly adopting a pragmatic, non-aligned stance that prioritizes diplomatic mediation and national interests over binary confrontations.

The report maps nearly one hundred agreements on critical minerals between African states and global actors, highlighting the strategic competition for resources. It identifies a lack of transparency in these deals and notes that while China and Russia are prominent, other actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are expanding their footprints. The analysis emphasizes that these partnerships often reflect broader geopolitical and historical ties rather than just economic needs.

The document argues that while agroecology offers a sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, these transitions are not gender-neutral and often overlook the systemic barriers facing women. It highlights how women's indigenous knowledge is critical for biodiversity and resilience, yet they face significant hurdles in land tenure, financing, and market access. The brief provides recommendations for philanthropic and governmental support to ensure equity, including long-term funding and investment in women-led cooperatives and processing infrastructure.

The document argues that Africa's rapid urban growth necessitates immediate investment in food environments to prevent unhealthy path dependencies. It identifies a funding gap of US$100 million over the next five years across four key initiatives: AfriFOODlinks, the Africa Food Environment Research Network (FERN), the Living Off-Grid Food & Infrastructure Collaboration (LOGIC), and the Resilient Municipal Market Fund (ReMark). The brief emphasizes that urban food environments are shaped by physical, economic, social, and infrastructural factors, and suggests aligning these with agroecological principles to improve resilience, equity, and resource efficiency.

The document advocates for Silvopastoral Systems (SPS)—the integration of trees, forage, and livestock—to restore degraded African rangelands and mitigate resource-driven conflicts. It highlights successful models like Herding for Health and Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), while urging philanthropic investment to overcome barriers such as insecure land tenure, knowledge gaps, and government subsidies for chemical-intensive farming.

The document analyzes the crisis facing ECOWAS in 2025, characterized by the exit of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and a decline in the organization's normative authority regarding democratic governance. It identifies a structural power imbalance where the executive Authority dominates, leading to inconsistent applications of 'zero-tolerance' policies toward unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs). The authors propose a three-phase reform strategy: first, restoring political authority through the operationalization of ECOSOC and revised sanctions; second, rebalancing power by making Court rulings binding and introducing parliamentary confirmation for Commission leadership; and third, transitioning to a supranational model with direct elections for the Parliament and primacy of Community law. The brief emphasizes the need for a coalition of 'reform champions'—including Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana—and strategic financial support from Germany and the EU to ensure regional stability.

The document examines how African youth are transforming peacebuilding through AI and digital tools, shifting from passive consumers to active knowledge creators. It highlights the decentralisation of early warning systems and the use of digital platforms for peace messaging and mobilisation. However, it warns that digital divides, gender gaps, and linguistic biases—where 88% of African languages are ignored by computational tools—threaten to marginalise rural youth and women. The brief notes a disconnect between the AU's Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and digital strategies, urging for integrated policies and the institutionalisation of youth roles in AI governance to ensure digital peacebuilding is ethical and inclusive.

The Borno Model represents a shift from militarized, coercive approaches to a more humane, locally-owned framework for managing defections from Boko Haram factions. While it has successfully processed 160,000 exits by March 2024 through inclusive family-based reception and community engagement, it faces critical challenges including severe under-funding of livelihood support, a lack of transparent operational guidelines, and design flaws that risk reuniting women with their former captors.

The report analyzes the integration of human mobility into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), finding that while 83% of submitted NAPs reference mobility, most lack detailed strategies for sub-national implementation. Through case studies in Costa Rica, Senegal, and Sri Lanka, it identifies gaps in financing, data, and coordination between national and local governments, while proposing a typology of approaches for localizing mobility actions.

The document examines the potential for rechannelling Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from wealthy IMF member states to Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), specifically the African Development Bank (AfDB), to address Africa's annual financing gap of over $400 billion. It details a proposal where SDRs would serve as hybrid capital, allowing the AfDB to leverage funds up to four times on capital markets. The brief identifies significant political and legal barriers, including the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary financing prohibition and the lack of formal commitment from major holders like China, Japan, and the US. It recommends that South Africa's G20 presidency use diplomacy to seek ECB clarification, coordinate a Liquidity Support Agreement (LSA) with bilateral partners, and explore innovative fiscal tools such as SDR bonds or direct allocations to prescribed holders.

Ghana's December 2024 elections are occurring during a period of extreme economic distress and high political tension. The race is primarily between the NPP's Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NDC's John Dramani Mahama. Public trust in the Electoral Commission and the judiciary is low, and the NDC has previously threatened to boycott the courts if the results are unfavourable. The country faces risks of election-related violence, particularly in the North, and the outcome is seen as a critical test for democratic resilience in West Africa.

The LoCAL+ programme aims to increase the climate resilience of approximately 3.49 million people across 85 local governments in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Niger. The initiative combines a performance-based climate resilience grant (PBCRG) system for public investments with Blended Finance Facilities to support local SMEs and producers' organisations. The programme focuses on seven key intervention areas: climate-adapted agriculture, forestry and ecosystem conservation, agroforestry, water and health, energy efficiencies and renewables, climate-resilient infrastructure, and coastal areas in Ivory Coast. It is implemented by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) as the Accredited Entity, with UNCDF as an implementing partner and various national agencies as executing entities.

The document examines the resurgence of military coups in Africa since 2020 and the fragmented reactions of BRICS nations. It argues that while Russia engages in 'coup protection schemes' and China maintains a 'non-interventionist policy' to secure economic interests, India, Brazil, and South Africa have taken more muted or supportive stances toward constitutional order. This lack of unity suggests BRICS operates as a 'house of cards' with disaggregated interests, potentially limiting its ability to effectively challenge US and European influence in Africa.

The report analyzes the roles of Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt as transit and destination hubs for migrants moving from sub-Saharan Africa toward Europe. It highlights a systemic tension between the European Union's focus on border externalization and the African Union's goal of regional free movement. In Libya, state fragmentation has allowed smuggling networks and militias to control migration routes, leading to severe human rights abuses. Tunisia has seen a surge in sub-Saharan migrants and relies heavily on EU-funded border security despite lacking a national asylum policy. Egypt hosts approximately nine million migrants and maintains a more stable governance structure, though it has recently implemented stricter visa restrictions for Sudanese nationals. The report argues that current securitized approaches often drive migrants toward riskier routes and recommends a shift toward human rights, economic development, and the ratification of the AU Free Movement Protocol.

The report analyzes the complex landscape of African migration governance, highlighting the role of the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in promoting free movement and regional integration. It identifies significant gaps between the adoption of policy frameworks—such as the 1991 Abuja Treaty and the 2018 Free Movement Protocol—and their actual implementation. The document emphasizes the growing impact of climate change as a driver of mobility and the risks posed by the increasing use of immigration detention. It concludes that while subregional progress exists, overlapping memberships in RECs and a lack of compliance monitoring hinder the achievement of a borderless continent.

The report assesses gender dynamics and climate vulnerabilities in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Niger. It identifies a consistent gap between national gender policies and real-world implementation, noting that women are often framed as victims rather than active agents of adaptation. Key challenges include limited access to land, finance, and education, alongside high rates of gender-based violence. The document recommends institutionalizing local gender assessments, ensuring women's representation in project design, and using gender-disaggregated data to guide the LoCAL+ programme's investments in climate resilience.

The study finds that heavy precipitation events leading to severe flooding in Sudan are no longer rare in a climate 1.3°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, with such events now expected approximately every three years. Climate models indicate that human-induced warming has roughly doubled the likelihood of these events and increased their intensity by about 10%, with observed 30-day rainfall intensity in the study region increasing by 18% since 1981. The report emphasises that these climate risks are compounded by 'risk multipliers' including ongoing conflict, poverty, rapid urbanisation, and ageing infrastructure, which have created a displacement crisis in Sudan, Chad, and Nigeria. The authors argue that the transboundary nature of river systems in sub-Saharan Africa necessitates improved international coordination for flood management and early warning systems to mitigate future disasters as warming reaches 2°C.

New analysis from the World Resources Institute reveals that 25% of global crops are grown in areas with highly stressed or unreliable water supplies. This vulnerability is particularly acute for staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn, with 33% produced in such areas. The report highlights a critical dependency on a small number of countries for irrigated crops and the increasing instability of rainfed agriculture due to climate change. To mitigate these risks, the document recommends strategies including reducing food waste, shifting diets away from water-intensive meats, increasing irrigation efficiency, and investing in nature-based solutions.