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The document examines the intersection of trade, climate change, and development in Africa, advocating for a shift from a narrow 'just energy transition' to a broader 'climate-resilient development' (CRD) approach. It highlights Africa's vulnerability to climate crises and proposes strategies for green industrialization, climate-smart agriculture, and the strengthening of development finance institutions. The author critiques the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as 'green trade protectionism' and calls for a 'Global Green New Deal' based on multilateral cooperation, technology transfer, and the fulfillment of climate finance promises by developed nations.

The MEFMI Debt Management Programme (February 2021 - September 2022) provided technical assistance and capacity building to several African nations to improve debt sustainability, transparency, and strategic management. Key achievements include conducting debt sustainability analyses in Eswatini and Tanzania, developing a debt statistical bulletin in Botswana, consolidating debt databases in Zambia, and formulating Medium-Term Debt Management Strategies in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The Risk, Resilience and Regulatory Lab (R3LAB) is a collaborative platform for African insurance regulators aimed at improving supervisory skills and fostering innovation. It provides capacity-building programs, peer exchange, and learning toolkits to address regulatory gaps. A key output includes 'insurance innovation portraits' for eight countries, which identify barriers to innovation and propose action plans based on six assessment areas, including infrastructure, finance, and the regulatory environment.

The report showcases eight DRE projects across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, illustrating how solar PV, hydropower, and solar-powered desalination improve health services, education, and economic stability during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The document examines the 'digital geopolitics' affecting the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, contrasting the commercially-driven US model, the state-centric Chinese model, and the human-centric EU model. It warns that without strategic agency and home-grown innovation, Africa risks 'digital recolonisation' or the adoption of 'authoritarian tech'. The authors recommend that SADC and the African Union (AU) harmonise data sovereignty frameworks, strengthen rights-centred implementation, and increase influence in international standard-setting bodies like the ITU to ensure digital transformation aligns with African contextual needs.

The document challenges the belief that social grants create a 'culture of dependency' or discourage labour market participation in South Africa. By reviewing international and local evidence, it argues that cash transfers often facilitate job searches, stimulate local economies, and empower women. The authors advocate for a UBIG indexed to the upper-bound poverty line, funded through progressive taxation, as a means to eliminate poverty while supporting inclusive economic growth.

The research argues that a universal basic income grant (UBIG) in South Africa could move beyond immediate poverty relief to dismantle structural poverty by improving labour market participation, health, women's empowerment, and social cohesion. Drawing on local and international evidence, the authors contend that a UBIG funded through progressive taxation would stimulate local economies via multiplier effects and increase human capital. The paper emphasizes that for a UBIG to be effective, it must be unconditional, universal, and integrated with quality public services, rather than serving as a replacement for them.

The Russia-Ukraine war has worsened systemic weaknesses in the international food system, disproportionately affecting African countries due to their high reliance on food, fuel, and fertiliser imports from Russia and Ukraine. This vulnerability is compounded by climate-induced weather events, internal conflicts, and structural infrastructure deficits. The report highlights that food price shocks have already triggered protests in countries like Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, and Sudan. To mitigate these risks, the authors recommend that private companies support the diversification of food sources and local agribusiness capacity, while African governments should reduce regulation and leverage regional integration platforms like the AfCFTA.

FSD Africa's Capital Markets team works to address financing gaps in Africa by developing enabling policies, market infrastructure, and innovative financial products. The report highlights the mobilization of approximately GBP 320 million through bond issuances, including pioneering green and gender bonds in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco. It details the Africa Regulatory Support Programme (ARSP) and the African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund) as key mechanisms for reducing currency risk and increasing private sector investment. Moving forward, FSD Africa is concentrating its efforts on five priority countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria—with a strong emphasis on green capital markets and natural capital finance.

The report highlights the urgent need for food systems transformation in southern Africa due to climate change, population growth, and high rates of malnutrition. It reviews key 2021 global and regional events—including the UN Food Systems Summit, the AGRF Summit, and COP26—to identify national entry points for action across southern African states, emphasizing the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus and the role of youth and ecosystem restoration.

The report identifies widespread labor rights violations by Chinese companies in Southern Africa, including low wages, unsafe working conditions, and unfair dismissals. It highlights a systemic failure of national governments to enforce labor laws, often exacerbated by corruption and political ties between Chinese investors and local elites. While some positive impacts on employment and infrastructure are noted, the study emphasizes the precarious nature of these jobs and the marginalization of trade unions.

The document explores the evolving relationship between Korea and Africa, focusing on how Korea's carbon-neutrality goals and technological expertise can support Africa's climate resilience. It identifies key areas for partnership, including renewable energy, green minerals for batteries, smart city development, and climate-resilient agriculture, while emphasizing the need for these initiatives to be African-led and aligned with the AU's strategic framework.

The document analyzes the collapse of Sri Lanka in 2022, attributing the crisis to the corruption of the Rajapaksa family, a massive international debt burden, and failed neoliberal policies. It details how the ban on chemical fertilizers caused food insecurity, how dependence on fossil fuels led to energy poverty, and how 'debt-for-nature' swaps are viewed as false solutions. The text highlights a severe humanitarian crisis where millions require immediate assistance and calls for a systemic change, debt cancellation, and a just energy transition.

A coalition of civil society organisations condemns the UNDP's signing of an MoU with the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in South Africa. The letter argues that the MMSEZ is a coal-dependent project that would generate approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its lifetime, jeopardising South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments and exacerbating water insecurity in the Limpopo region. The authors further claim that the UNDP's grievance mechanisms, specifically the Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) and the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU), are inadequate because they are reactive and do not cover non-binding MoUs that lend legitimacy to flawed projects.

The toolkit outlines a systematic approach for capital market regulators in emerging markets to identify institutional gaps and strengthen their capacity. It introduces the DAART framework (Define success, Align stakeholders, Assemble resources, Respect sensitivities, and Tailor for results) to ensure assessments are context-specific and actionable. The guide emphasizes the dual role of regulators in emerging markets—supervising and developing markets—and provides a methodology for prioritizing gaps based on impact and feasibility to create a 'pitch deck' for securing external funding and technical assistance.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) highlights the need for integrated planning to manage synergies and trade-offs between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The briefing presents the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) as a unique open-access, quantitative, and prospective tool capable of analyzing both Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and SDGs. SEI's Initiative on Integrated Climate and Development Planning has expanded LEAP with extensions for macroeconomic impacts, health, agriculture, and land use, which have been applied in 16 countries to quantify the co-benefits of climate action.

The document examines the critical intersection of WASH services, climate change, and global health security, illustrating how water scarcity and infrastructure failure exacerbate disease transmission and political instability. It highlights specific instances in West Africa, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the lack of basic water services in healthcare facilities increased vulnerability to Ebola and other health crises. The author advocates for the U.S. Government to leverage its global water and climate strategies to promote sector-inclusive policies and funding that prioritize prevention over response.

The document examines the evolution of disaster risk reduction (DRR) from a reactive emergency response model to a proactive strategy focused on reducing vulnerability and exposure. It highlights the disproportionate impact of disasters in countries with poor infrastructure, such as Haiti compared to Chile, and emphasizes the economic benefits of proactive investment, citing Bangladesh as an example. The brief traces the international policy trajectory from the 1960s through the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, noting a growing integration between DRR and climate change adaptation. It specifically advocates for the protection of wetlands as natural buffers against water-related disasters and calls for a 'whole-of-society' approach combining top-down institutional changes with bottom-up community actions to build resilience in a climate where extreme events are becoming the 'new normal'.

The document analyzes the intersection of the AfCFTA and climate action, arguing that while the agreement has minimal environmental references, it can be adjusted to eliminate barriers to environmental goods and services. It emphasizes the need for a phased decarbonization approach for fossil-fuel-dependent nations and suggests that instead of adding a new Environmental Protocol, existing continental climate strategies should be reinforced. The text calls for increased climate financing, technology transfer from partners like the EU and US, and the promotion of a circular economy to ensure that increased intra-African trade does not lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions.

The report examines how illicit financial flows (IFFs) deprive East and Southern African governments of resources needed for social protection. Focusing on Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, it compares the scale of financial losses from tax evasion, corruption, and trade misinvoicing against the funding gaps in social assistance programmes. The study concludes that recovering these lost funds could significantly increase the coverage and adequacy of social protection floors for vulnerable groups.