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This policy brief examines the limited participation of African nations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on e-commerce. It analyzes the tension between the plurilateral JSI approach and the multilateral Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, highlighting the digital divide and capacity constraints facing African states. The author argues that African countries should engage with the JSI to protect their developmental interests and prepare for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) e-commerce protocol.

This February 2022 report from the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the composition and challenges of the newly elected African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), the outcomes of the February 2022 AU Summit regarding governance and conflict prevention, and the ongoing debate over equitable regional representation within the Council. It also examines the tensions between the African Union and the European Union regarding the green energy transition and critiques the application of the principle of subsidiarity in the relationship between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

This fact sheet, based on the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, details the observed and projected impacts of climate change in West Africa. It highlights significant increases in temperature, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise, which threaten human health, food security, biodiversity, and economic stability. The document emphasizes the region's high vulnerability despite its low contribution to global emissions and calls for transformative adaptation and increased financial and research investment.

This factsheet summarizes the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report for West Africa, detailing how the region is warming faster than the global average. It highlights severe risks to food security, human health (specifically heat-related mortality and diarrhoeal diseases), and biodiversity. The report emphasizes that while adaptation options like ecosystem-based solutions exist, they are severely hindered by a lack of finance and critical data gaps in climate research.

The FSD Africa Impact Report 2022 details the agency's efforts to transform financial markets in Africa, specifically through its 2021–2025 green strategy. The report highlights the mobilization of £1.9 billion in long-term capital for sectors like housing and energy, the issuance of pioneering gender bonds, and the development of climate-resilient financial infrastructure to address the continent's vulnerability to climate change and economic shocks.

The FSD Africa Impact Report (2022) is an executive summary detailing the organization's performance under a strategy revised in early 2021. It highlights efforts to transform African financial markets through green bonds, local currency bond funds, climate resilience ventures, and natural capital initiatives, while also reporting on gender inclusivity and COVID-19 response measures.

The 2021 AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) report notes a positive shift toward addressing climate-induced insecurity but criticizes the council for ignoring governance deficits as root causes of conflict. The report highlights the PSC's response to military coups in Mali, Guinea, and Sudan, while noting a controversial endorsement of a military transition in Chad. Looking toward 2022, it warns of potential electoral violence in Kenya, Angola, and Senegal, and identifies several conflict hotbeds, including Ethiopia and Libya. It also emphasizes the ongoing threat of violent extremism in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and Mozambique, while noting the AU's struggle with member state funding and the need for strategic autonomy.

This policy brief examines the environmental and social challenges of the mining industry and the limitations of current international and domestic governance. It argues that achieving 'sustainable mining' requires a shift toward development partnerships, stronger community consultation, and the integration of UN Sustainable Development Goals into mining operations to mitigate the 'resource curse' and environmental degradation.

This fact sheet provides a summary of the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge as of May 24, 2022, listing the financial commitments and geographic focus of 43 participating companies.

This case study describes the African Risk Capacity (ARC), a sovereign risk pool and early response mechanism that provides drought insurance to African Union member states to protect food security for vulnerable populations.

This case study describes TCX, a currency hedging solution designed to reduce currency and interest risk for energy and climate investments in developing countries by enabling long-term finance in local currencies.

The Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) is a mobile-enabled index insurance program in Africa that links smallholder farmers to insurance through the purchase of agricultural inputs. The program utilizes solar-powered weather stations and mobile money platforms to trigger immediate compensation for yield losses caused by drought, excess rain, and storms.

The R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, launched in 2011 by the World Food Program and Oxfam America, integrates risk reduction, transfer, taking, and reserves to improve food and income security for farmers facing climate risks.

The ARM-Harith Cities & Climate Transition Fund (The ACT Fund) is a mid-market greenfield infrastructure fund designed to expand sustainable infrastructure in West Africa. It utilizes a blended-currency mechanism to reduce financing friction at early project stages and mobilize local institutional investment through structured exit solutions.

This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) identifies key strategies to accelerate climate change adaptation across Africa. Based on interviews with African scientists and practitioners, the paper advocates for a shift toward locally-led, inclusive solutions that integrate indigenous knowledge with scientific projections. It proposes three primary investment pillars: enhancing people's skills and knowledge, building climate-resilient economies, and investing in nature-based solutions.

The NAP Global Network 2020–2021 Progress Report details the activities of a network dedicated to supporting developing countries in formulating and implementing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). During the reporting period (December 2020 to November 2021), the Network shifted toward providing rapid, short-term technical assistance via its Country Support Hub and focused on integrating gender, health, and finance into adaptation planning to accelerate climate-resilient recovery.

This report analyzes regional trends in cooling access gaps for 2021, focusing on high-impact countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It highlights an overall increase in populations at highest risk—specifically the rural and urban poor—across all regions, with the COVID-19 pandemic cited as a contributing factor to rising poverty and cooling access challenges.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines strategies for sustainable resource mobilisation to strengthen global healthcare systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues for a shift from disease-specific 'vertical' funding to a 'whole systems approach' that addresses the triple burden of non-communicable diseases, existing infections, and pandemic response gaps. The document emphasizes the importance of domestic resource mobilisation (DRM), the need for equitable vaccine distribution through the ACT-Accelerator and COVAX, and the potential for LMICs to leverage lessons from the AIDS epidemic to challenge intellectual property barriers via TRIPS waivers.

The 'Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape' report analyzes financial commitments for electrification and clean cooking in 20 high-impact countries (HICs) across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for the year 2018. It finds that current investment levels are significantly below the requirements to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) by 2030, with a notable misalignment between where funds are allocated and where the greatest energy needs exist.

The executive summary of 'Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2020' analyzes energy access finance commitments in 2018 across 20 high-impact countries (HICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It finds a significant gap between actual and required investment for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), noting that funding is poorly distributed geographically and often favors fossil fuels over sustainable, off-grid solutions.