Category: Africa

Source: APO – Report:

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Nearly 22,000 people fled their homes in northern Mozambique in a single week last month due to a resurgence in fighting across Cabo Delgado, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.

The surge in displacement in late September marks a turning point in the conflict – now entering its eighth year – with more than 100,000 people already uprooted during 2025.

The violence in Cabo Delgado began in 2017, led by armed groups locally known as al-Shabaab – unrelated to the Somali Islamist militia of the same name. The conflict has evolved into a complex crisis compounded by the effects of repeated cyclones, floods and drought that have devastated livelihoods.

For the first time since hostilities began, all 17 districts of Cabo Delgado have been directly affected, and more than 1.3 million people have been displaced – many multiple times.

“Families are reaching their limit,” Xavier Creach, head of UNHCR in Mozambique said, noting that some who once hosted the displaced are now fleeing themselves.

Civilians continue to be targeted amid reports of killings, abductions and sexual violence, while children face the risk of forced recruitment.

Women and girls most at risk

Women and girls are especially vulnerable when collecting water or firewood, and those with disabilities or older persons often cannot flee the violence. Many are traumatised and urgently need psychosocial support, Mr. Créach added.

The violence has sharply intensified this year, with more than 500 incidents recorded through August – surpassing even the peaks of 2022 – including raids, abductions and the destruction of homes and infrastructure.

Health system under siege

The humanitarian fallout has been compounded by the collapse of health services across the north.

According to the World Health Organization-led response, around 60 per cent of facilities in the worst-affected districts are non-functional due to insecurity, looting and staff displacement.

Essential services such as maternity care, HIV treatment and emergency response have been severely disrupted.

In Mocímboa da Praia, the only hospital is operating with less than 10 per cent of its staff – mostly volunteers struggling to keep the emergency room and maternity ward open.

Aid groups warn that disease risks are mounting, with malaria and cholera cases expected to rise as the rainy season begins.

Severe funding shortfall

The health sector’s annual response plan is only 11 per cent funded for this year, leaving stocks of essential medicines critically low.

UNHCR also faces severe funding shortfalls. It has received only $66 million of the $352 million required for its Mozambique operations this year, leaving response capacity “stretched just as needs rise.”

– on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO – Report:

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Parfait Onanga-Anyanga was speaking at a Security Council meeting focused on the key issues faced by Africa and cooperation between the UN and the African Union (AU) – a continental organisation comprising 55 African Member States.

He warned that “concerns remain in some parts of the continent about the number and complexity of conflicts.”

He said these conflicts were often worsened by “weak or ineffective State authority, violence extremism conducive to terrorist activities, the inequitable management of natural resources, organized crime, the impact of climate change, acute food insecurity and, in some cases, denial of fundamental human rights.”

Conflicts in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region – including the Democratic Republic of the Congo – have caused widespread displacement and multiple humanitarian emergencies.

“No military solution whatsoever can resolve underlying causes of the conflict in the DRC or elsewhere in Africa,” said Mr. Onanga-Anyanga. “I call upon this Council to continue to leverage its influence towards peaceful settlement of outstanding issues between the parties.”

The Special Representative highlighted two critical conflict-related issues to Council members: climate change as a conflict multiplier and the challenges faced by women and girls in battle-scarred regions, noting the consistent spillover effects of climate-induced insecurity across all these crises.

Unprecedented wave of threats

Speaking for the AU, Ambassador Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees told the Council that

“Africa is facing an unprecedented wave of threats to its security” adding that “solutions are needed to achieve greater stability.” 

The UN and the AU have long collaborated on issues affecting the continent and according to the UN’s Onanga-Anyanga “significant progress has been made, particularly in supporting recent free, fair, and credible elections across the continent—in Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, and most recently Malawi, where a new president was inaugurated last week.”

Mr. Onanga-Anyanga said that fostering consensus was more important than ever.

“The strong and enduring partnership between the United Nations and the African Union, as well as with other regional organizations, constitutes the foundation of effective and networked multilateralism, essential to address today’s complex, evolving and interconnected threats to peace, security, development and human rights, particularly in Africa,” he said.

Responding to armed conflicts

In December 2023, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to enhance cooperation between the UN and AU.

Addressing the Council, Martha Pobee, a UN Assistant Secretary-General with a brief focusing on Africa said that the resolution (2719) was conceived “as a means to address a longstanding gap in the African Union’s peace and security architecture to better to respond to armed conflicts on the African continent, with the support of the broader international community, and this Council in particular.”

Work is continuing on the operationalisation of the resolution across four key workstreams with some progress reported.

Joint planning modalities for AU-led peace support operations were approved in September, establishing a shared decision-making framework.

Mission support planning was also finalized to ensure coherent field operations.

Earlier in the year, the UN outlined financial rules for AU-led missions, now under legislative review.

Progress was also made on compliance and the protection of civilians including strengthening accountability mechanisms and developing gender-responsive policies.

The efforts “seek to ensure that our collaboration is grounded both in strategic vision and in operational practicality,” said Ms. Pobee.

– on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO – Report:

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Today, World Health Organization (WHO) joined Uganda’s Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to disseminate the Family Planning Bottleneck Analysis Report, a rapid assessment that highlights barriers hindering the scale-up of evidence-based family planning practices in Uganda.

Led by WHO, Ministry of Health, Makerere University School of Public Health, and UNFPA, the study applied the WHO global protocol adapted to Uganda’s context, ensuring locally relevant and sustainable solutions.

“Ensuring access to quality family planning services is a high-impact intervention that can address the unmet need and improve coverage as a key pillar for safe motherhood,” said Dr Joseph Okware, Director of Health Services for Governance and Regulation at the Ministry of Health.

Uganda has made commendable progress in family planning. Through the 2020 Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan II and family planning 2030 commitments, the Government has prioritized equitable access to modern contraception. As a result, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among women of reproductive age increased from 27.3% in 2016 to 29.8% in 2022, while the unmet need for family planning declined from 28.4% to 18.5%.

Despite these gains, challenges persist. Uganda’s total fertility rate remains high at 5.2 children per woman. Teenage pregnancy continues to be a concern, with 23.5% of girls aged 15–19 having begun childbearing. Alarmingly, only 2% of mothers receive immediate postpartum family planning services.

Barriers to effective implementation and scale up of evidence-based family planning services included inadequate financing to facilitate the full scale of social behavioral change communication for family planning, health system weaknesses (constraints in supplies, human resources and service delivery) and inadequate policy regulation and guidance to facilitate task sharing and equity in service delivery.

To address these, the report recommends strengthening provider training and mentorship, improving contraceptive supply chains, integrating of social and behavior change communication indicators into the Health Management Information System, and developing comprehensive policies to support task-sharing.

“To improve family planning outcomes, we must do things differently. This means strengthening leadership, financing, commodity management, community engagement, service delivery, and data use,” said Kira Koch, the cluster lead for Universal Health Coverage at WHO Uganda.

Kira pledged WHO’s continued support to the Government of Uganda in addressing family planning coverage through technical assistance, policy review, and capacity building. These efforts are fully aligned with Uganda’s national commitments under Universal Health Coverage, Family Planning 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Family Planning Bottleneck Analysis Report provides insights into the key action areas for enhancing uptake of family planning services through scale up of evidence-based practices. By addressing systemic barriers and investing in sustainable, evidence-based solutions, Uganda can accelerate its journey toward universal access to family planning. With strong leadership and continued collaboration, the country is well-positioned to transform lives and communities for generations to come.

– on behalf of World Health Organization – Uganda.

Source: APO – Report:

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In connection with World Teachers’ Day, eleven exemplary teachers have been awarded in Elaberet sub-zone.

The recognition program was organized by the Teachers’ Association in the sub-zone, and the awardee teachers have long years of teaching experience in pre-school, elementary, junior, and high schools.

Ms. Asha Ali-Nur, administrator of the sub-zone, noting the importance of the teaching profession in societal development, highlighted the significance of recognizing exemplary teachers in the development of the teaching and learning process.

Mr. Kibrom Gebrezgi, head of the education office in the sub-zone, said that the teaching profession shoulders the responsibility of nurturing generations, and stated that organizing capacity-upgrading programs for teachers is one of the priority tasks of the branch office.

Col. Kibrom Nerayo, Director General of Social Services in the Anseba Region, and Mr. Mulu’e Tesfamariam, head of Political Affairs of the PFDJ in the sub-zone, commended the initiative to encourage teachers and called for its sustainability.

Mr. Kiflai Andemariam, head of the education office in the Anseba Region, on his part, indicated that the teaching profession develops through sustainable effort, congratulated the awardee teachers, and called on them to exert more effort for better outcomes.

– on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.

Source: APO – Report:

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Awat and Freselam Elementary and Junior Schools in Asmara have provided awards to 418 outstanding students who scored high marks in the eighth-grade national examination for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Accordingly, Awat School has presented medals and certificates of recognition to 109 students who scored over 90 points and tablets to outstanding students who scored above 98 points.

Freselam School, on its part, has provided medals and certificates of recognition to 309 students as well as certificates and monetary awards to exemplary teachers.

According to reports presented by each school, compared to previous years, the number of students passing to the next level has increased from 87% to 95% in Awat School, and from 94.7% to 97% in Freselam School.

Noting that the success being registered in the Central Region is the result of the hard work of students, coupled with the strong support of parents and teachers, Mr. Belai Habtegabir, head of the education office in the region, called for sustained effort to achieve better outcomes.

– on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.

Source: APO – Report:

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His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has formally received the Year-Two Report on the implementation of the Feed Salone initiative from the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, during a meeting with members of the Presidential Council on Feed Salone at the State House.

Opening the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture and Secretary to the Presidential Council, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, said the purpose of the meeting was to update the President on key progress and achievements made in the second year of implementing Feed Salone, as well as to highlight challenges identified during implementation.

He explained that the production of the annual report on the activities of the council, which will be officially launched by President Bio during this year’s celebration of World Food Day in Kambia on 31 October 2025, reveals that since its launch, Feed Salone has been working toward achieving its five key objectives.

Dr. Kpaka informed the President that, as a result of the government’s interventions, there has been an increase in the export of key cash crops, including cocoa, cashew, and coffee, all of which have brought more foreign exchange into the country. He further noted that the Ministry has built the capacity of 175 young people who are now certified tractor drivers, leading to the establishment of five new machinery service providers in Kono, Bombali, Moyamba, and Kambia Districts.

Highlighting other achievements, the Minister mentioned the establishment of 30 combined harvesters, 10 Sakata rice mills, and the ongoing construction of 5,000 hectares of irrigation infrastructure in Tormabum and Gbondapi. On the seed importation system, he revealed that the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency (SLeSCA) has established a state-of-the-art seed laboratory in Mile 91. Working alongside SLARI, the agency will soon release new varieties of certified seed to improve yields and strengthen climate resilience among farmers.

On institutional feeding, Dr. Kpaka reported that, through government intervention, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to procure 2,044 metric tons of rice from 12,000 farmers across seven districts. He added that the government’s commitment to providing a $10 million agricultural credit facility through the Bank of Sierra Leone aims to further support private-sector investment in agriculture.

The Minister highlighted that within two years of implementing the Feed Salone initiative, Sierra Leone has recorded a steady reduction in rice importation, a decline in rice prices, and improved food security. There has also been a consistent increase in the export of cocoa, cashew, and coffee, generating valuable foreign exchange for the country and diversifying the national food basket.

In his response, President Julius Maada Bio thanked council members for their dedication and progress in advancing Feed Salone, noting that, “We are entering the third year of the Feed Salone programme. We have made tremendous efforts—from making agriculture a national priority to reforming policies in the sector.”

The President reiterated his government’s commitment to unlocking finance for agriculture through the $10 million credit facility for indigenous private-sector players, emphasizing that, “Value chain addition in the sector must have a private-sector champion, and by as a government, we will meet them halfway.”

“We have laid a solid foundation. Even though we are not yet there, this is a movement. I called on this nation two years ago, and I strongly believe they are now responding. There is no turning back in our journey to Feed Salone,” President Bio assured.

On behalf of the indigenous private sector, Mr. Denis Jusu, Chief Executive Officer of Jam Jay Farming Company Limited, commended the government’s commitment to supporting local investors, expressing confidence that within the next two years, rice importation will reduce by up to 75 percent. He emphasized that the private sector’s role in Feed Salone is significant and affirmed that the initiative has become a tangible reality in which they are taking the lead.

Meaningful contributions were made by members of the council, and the Minister of Agriculture received commendations from his colleagues for his leadership in championing the Feed Salone initiative.

– on behalf of State House Sierra Leone.

Source: APO – Report:

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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, today announced that the Central African Republic (CAR) has become its 46^th member state, further expanding its pan-African footprint. This milestone is set to accelerate the CAR’s national development agenda by unlocking access to AFC’s deep sectoral expertise, innovative financing solutions, and a trusted network of global partners.

Rich in natural resources such as diamonds, gold and timber, CAR’s economic transformation is anchored on infrastructure development, particularly in the energy and extractives sectors. Membership of AFC provides CAR with a platform to translate its vast resource wealth into inclusive growth through investment in critical sectors including power, transport and natural resources.

AFC brings to the Central African Republic, deep expertise in structuring and financing complex projects across the continent. The Corporation has established platforms to support resource-rich countries by enabling beneficiation across the entire value chain and fostering sustainable development within local communities. This underscores the Corporation’s ability to deliver bankable projects that catalyse inclusive growth and development across Africa’s resource value chain.

Hon. Hervé Ndoba, Minister of Finance and Budget, Central African Republic said: “Joining membership of Africa Finance Corporation represents a new chapter in the Central African Republic’s development journey. The Corporation’s expertise in the mining and renewables sectors is precisely what the country needs, and we are proud to partner on our shared vision of industrial growth and infrastructure-led development.”

Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation said: “We warmly welcome the Central African Republic as our latest member country. As one of Africa’s most resource-rich nations, CAR has the potential to transform its natural wealth into economic prosperity. As such, we look forward to partnering with the Republic on transformational infrastructure projects that drive job creation, industrialisation and deeper regional integration.”

With CAR’s accession, AFC’s membership now spans 46 countries, reflecting the Corporation’s growing pan-African footprint and its trusted role as the partner of choice for African governments committed to driving economic growth through infrastructure development.

– on behalf of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

Media Enquiries:
Yewande Thorpe
Communications
Africa Finance Corporation
Mobile: +234 1 279 9654
Email: yewande.thorpe@africafc.org

About AFC:
AFC was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.

Eighteen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 46 member countries and has invested over US$15 billion in 36 African countries since its inception.

www.AfricaFC.org

Source: APO – Report:

As Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim prepares to conclude his term in January 2026 as Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO), the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (https://EnergyChamber.org/) reflects on a transformative chapter in the institution’s history – one defined by bold ideas, pragmatic leadership and an unrelenting commitment to ending African energy poverty.

To continue this legacy, the Chamber calls on APPO leaders to select a successor who will build on this momentum, who views Africa’s private sector as a driver of development and who is committed to advancing the transformative initiatives that Dr. Ibrahim championed. Now is the moment for a forward-looking decision that ensures continuity, innovation and a strong voice for Africa in the global energy arena.

During his mandate, Dr. Ibrahim positioned APPO as a credible, forward-looking institution capable of articulating a unified African voice in global energy discussions. At a time when the continent’s development is too often dictated by external agendas, he consistently reminded Africa of its right to define its own path, develop its resources, fund its projects and power its people.

Among his most notable contributions is the advancement of the $5 billion Africa Energy Bank (AEB), a visionary initiative to finance African energy with African capital. Developed in partnership with Afreximbank, the AEB represents a practical solution to decades of financial dependence and an essential tool in the fight against energy poverty as it approaches its historic operational launch. Under his leadership, APPO also took concrete steps to establish a Center of Excellence in Nigeria, in partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, designed to strengthen local capacity, foster specialized expertise and ensure knowledge, skills and innovation remain firmly anchored on the continent.

“Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim set a high bar for APPO leadership,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC. “His tenure renewed confidence among African producers, showing that oil and gas are not obstacles to transition but instruments of progress. The next Secretary General must uphold this legacy, seize the momentum, drive Africa’s energy agenda forward and harness private sector investment to turn the continent’s vast potential into sustainable growth. The world is watching – Africa cannot afford to lose this opportunity.”

The Chamber recognizes the strong slate of candidates competing for the role of Secretary General, and is confident that each possesses the leadership and experience needed to guide APPO into its next chapter. The AEC stands ready to collaborate with the new Secretary General once selected, in support of a unified vision for Africa’s energy future.

The next Secretary General will play a pivotal role in broadening APPO’s membership base, bringing new energy-producing nations such as Namibia and South Africa into the fold, and ensuring the successful launch and establishment of the AEB. Just as importantly, the next phase of leadership must prioritize the empowerment of youth, ensuring that young Africans are at the forefront of the industry’s evolution.

At this year’s African Energy Week, that next generation of young, pragmatic leadership was clearly on display: Ghana’s Minister of Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, and Senegal’s Minister of Energy, Birame Souleye Diop, played leading roles in the opening of the event, joined by energy ministers from Nigeria, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. The AEC believes that empowering such leadership will be instrumental in driving the next phase of APPO’s growth and ensuring that Africa’s voice continues to resonate on the global stage.

As Dr. Ibrahim’s mandate concludes, African ministers, national oil companies and industry partners express deep gratitude for his service and vision. Yet the challenge of continuity now begins. The next APPO Secretary General inherits not only an institution strengthened by his leadership, but also a responsibility to chart a new course that embraces innovation, builds resilient African institutions and ensures the continent remains competitive in the era of artificial intelligence and digital transformation.

The AEC advocates for the right leadership to seize this pivotal moment. Africa’s energy future depends on a Secretary General who will uphold APPO’s mission, champion private sector development and drive the continent’s energy ambitions forward. Dr. Ibrahim’s tenure laid the groundwork; now Africa needs a leader who will build on this foundation and elevate the continent’s energy ambitions to new heights.

– on behalf of African Energy Chamber.