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The document argues that Southern Africa urgently needs climate adaptation funding, specifically for planned relocation, to protect populations from slow-onset climate impacts. It highlights a significant gap in adaptation finance, noting that most funding is directed toward mitigation or countries with high institutional capacity rather than the most vulnerable. The author advocates for planned relocation as a last-resort, voluntary, and developmental tool, warning against the poor outcomes associated with forced or poorly managed historical resettlements.

The document examines the shift in Mozambique's strategy from treating the Cabo Delgado insurgency as a criminal matter to accepting international military support. It details the failures of the Russian Wagner Group, the role of the Dyck Advisory Group, and the subsequent deployments of Rwandan forces and the SADC Military Mission (SAMIM). While foreign troops have achieved quick gains, such as recovering Mocímboa da Praia, the brief highlights a critical lack of transparency regarding bilateral agreements and warns that insurgents are now dispersing into smaller groups in southern districts.

SEforALL's 100 Days Report details its leadership in planning the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy and COP26, its research on chronic underinvestment in energy finance, and its country-level support for energy access and COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Africa and South Asia.

The report identifies that 1.12 billion people across 76 countries are at high risk due to a lack of access to cooling, with the COVID-19 pandemic increasing this number by approximately 50 million in 2021. It highlights critical gaps in rural and urban poor populations, particularly in Africa and Asia, and examines the urgent need for sustainable cold chains for vaccine distribution. The document also promotes National Cooling Action Plans (NCAPs) and showcases passive and solar-powered cooling solutions in countries like Colombia, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

The 2021 Annual Monitoring Review details SEforALL's efforts to accelerate universal energy access and a just energy transition. Key achievements include the coordination of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), which articulated over USD 600 billion in finance through more than 200 Energy Compacts. The organization provided targeted support to 27 countries, with significant focus on Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. While the COVID-19 pandemic delayed some deliverables and funding for certain programmes, SEforALL reported progress in electrifying 265 healthcare facilities and leveraging USD 216.9 million for sustainable cooling. The report also highlights the 'Women at the Forefront' initiative, which provided technical training to 100 women in Kenya.

The report highlights that while Africa currently produces and consumes a small fraction of global plastics, a 'business as usual' trajectory could lead to a 375% increase in consumption by 2060. It identifies systemic failures across the plastics life cycle—from production to secondary markets—and argues that existing policy frameworks are fragmented and overly focused on end-of-life waste management. The document advocates for a comprehensive, life-cycle approach, the integration of the informal waste sector, and the development of a new legally binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural weaknesses in global health security and created a 'triple burden' for LMICs, who must manage pre-existing noncommunicable diseases, endemic infections, and the pandemic response. It advocates for a shift from 'vertical' disease-specific funding to a 'whole systems approach' to avoid zero-sum resource shifts. The author emphasizes that domestic resource mobilisation (DRM), including tax reforms and 'best buy' spending efficiency, is the only sustainable path for healthcare strengthening, as official development assistance (ODA) is prone to a 'panic-neglect' cycle. The briefing also calls for a temporary waiver of TRIPS intellectual property provisions to ensure equitable vaccine and medicine access, drawing lessons from the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.

The document examines the two-wave economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa, highlighting the first wave's disruption of trade, commodity prices, and remittances, and the second wave's risk of sovereign credit downgrades and debt defaults. It argues that limited fiscal space and high debt-to-GDP ratios leave many African nations unable to fund recovery, suggesting that central banks use monetised interventions and governments leverage digital technologies to maintain financial stability.

This proposal outlines a plan to enhance Rwanda's engagement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through four primary outcomes: strengthening the National Designated Authority's (NDA) coordination capacity, updating the country programming process, facilitating the renewal of the Ministry of Environment's accreditation, and developing a private sector mobilization strategy. The project, implemented by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), aims to address gaps in institutional coordination, outdated strategic frameworks, and limited private sector participation in climate finance over an 18-month period starting in January 2021.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), in collaboration with the UNDP and GEF, is seeking Expressions of Interest from organizations managing innovative finance mechanisms in fragile and conflict-prone regions. The initiative aims to support private sector solutions that address the 'triple threat' of COVID-19, climate change-induced extreme weather, and geopolitical instability. Selected organizations will receive grants, technical assistance from a multidisciplinary mentoring facility, and networking opportunities to improve the scale and effectiveness of their funds. Eligible mechanisms must be based in specific Least Developed Countries (LDCs), demonstrate a sustainable revenue model, and focus on the intersection of climate adaptation, food and water security, and disaster risk reduction.

The paper examines how the Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) managed the closure and reopening of schools during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. It identifies institutional coordination, the development of new capacities, and the critical role of teachers as the three primary factors facilitating the return to schools. The study highlights a contrast between the 'pragmatic managerialism' of the Western Cape and the historical challenges of political factionalism in the Eastern Cape, while noting that both provinces struggled with the digital divide and systemic teacher shortages.

The report argues that electric vehicles (EVs) can serve as enablers for a new energy paradigm in Southern Africa, shifting the region away from coal and oil dependency. It proposes a 'Southern African Green New Deal' and identifies five systemic innovations: transforming automakers into energy companies, implementing EV-enabled demand-side response services, transitioning consumers to 'prosumers' via peer-to-peer trading, deploying localized distributed energy resource (DER) networks using blockchain, and reskilling the workforce for green jobs. The analysis emphasizes that while South Africa's current grid is coal-heavy, EVs still offer lifecycle GHG reductions and can accelerate the decarbonization of power generation.

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has rescheduled its Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, to early 2022 to ensure a full in-person experience, as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to impact events through much of 2021. In the interim, SEforALL intends to drive action on SDG7 via the High-Level Dialogue on Energy, COP26, a global campaign, and a Virtual Youth Summit in February 2021.

The EARF gender assessment identifies women as primary energy consumers and key agents in the off-grid energy value chain. It proposes loan covenants to ensure companies maintain female employment levels and adopt Gender Empowerment Policies. The report includes detailed gender profiles for Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, highlighting systemic barriers such as cultural norms and limited access to STEM roles.

The 2020 Energizing Finance report finds a widening gap between actual and required investment for universal energy access, with funding failing to reach the countries with the greatest need. In 2018, only USD 16 billion of the required USD 41 billion for residential electrification was tracked in high-impact countries, and clean cooking finance remained far below the USD 4.5 billion annual requirement. The report highlights a concerning shift toward fossil fuel-generated electricity and a lack of private sector investment in clean cooking, urging a move away from business-as-usual approaches toward coordinated, sustainable financing.

This case study examines how Rwanda's domestic policy frameworks, tariff structures, and utility restructuring have increased electricity access, using the World Bank's Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) index as a benchmarking tool.

This research paper by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) examines the gap between the signing of regional trade agreements and their actual implementation in Africa. It highlights the 'crisis of implementation' affecting the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and discusses the potential and challenges of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The authors argue for a shift from top-down agreements to a bottom-up, problem-driven approach centered on regional public goods to ensure sustainable economic integration.

The briefing examines the critical role of cold chains in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, highlighting the gap between current infrastructure and the requirements of new vaccine candidates, some of which need ultra-low temperatures (-70C to -80C). It identifies significant barriers in low- and middle-income countries, including unreliable energy access, outdated equipment, and high upfront costs. The report argues that achieving herd immunity requires a massive expansion of sustainable, energy-efficient cold chains and proposes strategies such as 'Cooling as a Service' (CaaS), public-private partnerships like Project Last Mile, and a 'last mile' planning approach to ensure equitable access.

The briefing argues that the Biden administration can reclaim U.S. climate leadership by submitting a robust national climate commitment (NDC) of 45-50% emissions reductions by 2030, increasing financial support for developing countries through the Green Climate Fund and other mechanisms, and integrating climate change as a core foreign policy issue through strategic bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

OffgridSun, an Italian company, provides 'Energy Station' plug-and-play solar home systems to rural farmers in Eastern Rwanda. This initiative supports Rwanda's goal to increase off-grid electricity access from 14% to 48% by 2024 through private sector partnerships and localized products.