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Africa has seen infrastructure improvements, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, but continues to face a substantial deficit driven by population growth and urbanisation. Financing is characterized by a tension between concessional Western multilateral loans and more commercial, opaque Chinese lending via the Belt and Road Initiative. Recent efforts, such as the PIDA framework and the 2025 Africa Infrastructure Financing Summit, aim to align investment with pan-African priorities and global sustainability goals, including a transition toward renewables and electric mobility.

At the 2026 African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings, Recourse is calling for a shift in development finance to prioritise equitable renewable energy access and a just transition across Africa. The organisation demands a dedicated financing window for decentralised renewable energy (DRE), targeting at least 30% of energy access financing by 2027, and urges the Bank to halt all LNG and fossil gas financing. Recourse also advocates for grant-based and concessional public finance to prevent increasing debt distress and calls for stronger protections for communities affected by energy and extractive projects.

The Changing Markets Foundation argues that the EU's Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture must address the structural unsustainability of carnivorous aquaculture. The organization highlights how the reliance on fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) derived from wild fisheries increases pressure on marine ecosystems and undermines food security in regions such as West Africa, India, Vietnam, Peru, and Senegal. It advocates for a policy shift that prioritizes Low Trophic Aquaculture (LTA)—such as seaweed and bivalve farming—over carnivorous finfish production, while calling for the phasing out of marine ingredients in feed and improved transparency regarding total wild fish inputs in supply chains.

The report argues that public development banks (PDBs)—including national, regional, and multilateral institutions—are uniquely positioned to overcome structural and market barriers to climate risk insurance in EMDEs. It identifies key barriers such as data gaps, underdeveloped local capital bases, and fragmented regulatory frameworks. The document proposes a tiered approach where National Development Banks (NDBs) focus on local market development and project pipelines, Regional Development Banks (RDBs) coordinate risk pooling and shared data infrastructure, and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) provide catalytic capital and credit enhancement. Key recommendations include the use of targeted premium subsidies with sunset clauses, the bundling of insurance with loans, and the creation of regulatory sandboxes to foster innovation in parametric insurance.

The report argues that the surge in demand for critical minerals essential for the energy transition and digital economy risks amplifying existing gender inequalities. It identifies three compounding risk factors: specific environmental impacts (such as water scarcity and pollution), the high concentration of mineral reserves on Indigenous and agricultural lands, and the trend toward accelerated permitting processes. To mitigate these, the report recommends that stakeholders apply intersectional gender analysis in impact assessments, ensure inclusive consultation and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and establish gender-equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms, including fair land compensation and inclusive employment practices.

The document argues that food insecurity in South Africa is a result of policy and market failures, specifically citing the casualisation of agricultural labour and the failure of land redistribution models. It advocates for a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG), the adoption of agroecological farming to improve resilience and yields, and the removal of legal and practical barriers to women's land access. The authors suggest that the state must move beyond market-led food security and implement active industrial policy, land reform, and a dedicated food affordability framework.

The report details systemic gender discrimination in African households, highlighting the prevalence of child marriage, the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women, and legal and cultural barriers to equal divorce and inheritance rights.

The report highlights a significant gap between the skills of African graduates and the requirements of the modern job market, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It notes that sub-Saharan Africa has low enrollment in vocational programmes compared to global averages, though some countries like Angola perform better. The text argues for a balance between academic and vocational training to support agribusiness and manufacturing, while warning that poor foundational education in sub-Saharan Africa creates a lack of 'readily trainable workers' for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The report highlights a significant gender gap in African political representation, with women making up only 24% of parliamentarians and 7% of top executive positions. While the judiciary shows more encouraging trends, with 21 countries meeting a 33% representation target, structural barriers like patriarchal norms and cyberbullying persist. The text argues that higher female political participation correlates with lower corruption, increased social spending on health and education, and the adoption of stricter climate change policies.

The document argues that mangrove restoration requires more than planting seedlings, necessitating rigorous scientific planning, inclusive community engagement, and strong governance. It warns that poorly planned efforts can disrupt hydrological regimes, increase erosion, and exacerbate gender inequalities or tenure conflicts. Drawing on Convention on Biological Diversity guidelines, the brief recommends conducting long-term environmental monitoring, using native climate-resilient species, engaging Indigenous Knowledge holders, and upholding free, prior, and informed consent.

The document argues that climate adaptation is critically under-financed because markets struggle to price 'continuity' (avoided damages). It suggests moving from fragmented projects to integrated, nationally led 'Country Platforms' that coordinate public, private, and concessional finance. The author highlights African innovations such as parametric insurance (ARC) and the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, and provides an 8-step playbook for operationalizing resilience investments through diagnosis, tagging, layered finance, devolution, regulation, insurance reform, outcome-based payments, and transparent communication.

The document outlines the necessity of social and environmental safeguards in mangrove restoration to prevent ecological disruption and socio-economic harm. It provides a framework of actions based on Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) guidelines, covering areas such as environmental impact assessments, human rights, and gender equality. The brief highlights the Natur’ELLES project in Senegal, which has restored 123 ha of mangroves and 68 ha of continental forest while significantly increasing women's leadership in environmental management committees.

The report argues that the abrupt closure of USAID in 2025 has had catastrophic short-term effects on funding-dependent newsrooms in Africa, leading to mass layoffs and a decline in investigative capacity. It highlights the role of Internews as a primary implementer of these projects and warns that the loss of funding increases the risk of 'media capture' by political actors, the 'juniorisation' of newsrooms as senior staff leave, and a shift toward commercial rather than public service reporting. The author concludes that the resulting vacuum in public accountability work may accelerate democratic backsliding in fragile states.

Analysis of the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) reveals that oil and gas fields now take significantly longer to come online than in the 1960–1980 period, with 2025 startups averaging 15.1 years. This increase is driven by the depletion of easily accessible fields, forcing companies to target technically challenging 'hard-to-recover' reserves, such as ultra-high pressure '20K technology' fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and remote Arctic projects in Russia. Additional delays stem from reservoir compositions (e.g., sour gas), ecological risks in protected areas, and more stringent environmental regulations, such as the UK's 2025 guidance on scope three emissions. The report argues that these long lead times increase the risk of creating stranded assets and locking in production that contradicts global climate targets to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The report argues that Africa is disproportionately vulnerable to climate change and requires substantial support from wealthier nations to transition to renewables. It suggests a gradual phasing out of fossil fuels—starting with coal, then oil, and gas beyond 2050—contrasting with more rapid shifts proposed by other bodies. Key barriers identified include the failure of initiatives like JET-Ps to raise sufficient funds, the unfunded status of the loss and damage fund, and geopolitical tensions between the US, China, and the EU. The authors advocate for a differentiated global carbon tax, the operationalization of the Global Loss and Damage Fund, and the enhancement of Africa's role as a global carbon sink to balance economic growth with climate resilience.

The report argues that Africa's health and WaSH sectors require a shift from donor dependency to domestic investment and institutional reform. It emphasizes the role of the Africa CDC in health sovereignty and the goal of producing 60% of vaccines locally by 2040. The document advocates for tailored strategies based on a typology of state capacities and the adoption of decentralized, solar-powered WaSH solutions to improve outcomes across the continent.

The document examines the diverse nature of Africa's manufacturing sector, noting that most countries remain outliers with low manufacturing shares of GDP. It highlights a trend of 'premature deindustrialization' in low-income countries and the significant role of Chinese private enterprises in meeting domestic demand. While most of the continent relies on raw material exports, a few countries like Eswatini and South Africa show higher industrial competitiveness.

The document argues that Africa's health and WaSH trajectory is a global public good, where improvements could provide a demographic dividend for the global economy, while failures could amplify global pandemic risks and drive migration. It highlights the role of digital innovation, local manufacturing, and regional leadership in shaping global health intelligence and governance.

The report examines the shift in African development from state-led industrialization and the pan-Africanist Lagos Plan of Action (1980) to the market-oriented Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s. It argues that while the Lagos Plan sought collective self-reliance, it failed due to a lack of national integration and monitoring. Conversely, SAPs—driven by the 'Washington Consensus'—forced devaluation, privatization, and spending cuts in health and education, which the author contends led to a 'race to the bottom,' stunted industrialization, and a decline in per capita income between 1980 and 1994.

The Manufacturing scenario projects a structural economic transformation for Africa by 2043, increasing the manufacturing sector's GDP share to 18.1% and adding US$282.8 billion to the continent's total GDP. This shift is expected to generate 34.6 million additional jobs, primarily unskilled roles in agro-processing and services, while increasing government revenue by US$81.6 billion. The scenario forecasts a reduction in extreme poverty, lifting 19.11 million more people out of poverty by 2043 than the Current Path, and predicts a long-term decrease in income inequality through the expansion of the middle class.