Category: Africa

Source: APO

This morning, the leadership of the Ministry of Health (MoH) held a very successful meeting with a high-level delegation from Riders for Health, an African-led social enterprise, specialized in maintaining fleets on contract for ministries of health and health NGOs in Africa. The organization is renowned for keeping motorcycles, ambulances, and trucks running in tough terrain at sustainable costs. It takes care of outreach transport systems that allows community health workers physically reach remote villages with essential health commodities including getting drugs and vaccines to primary health facilities.

Today’s meeting with the Riders leadership reinforces the ministry’s determination to actively explore new ways of optimizing service delivery for maternal and child care, with a particular focus on improving referrals networks and ambulance services during the implementation of the 300 Days of Activism.

The meeting followed a series of engagements and assessments conducted by Riders for Health in partnership with the Ministry to examine gaps in ambulance and referral services, supply-chain transportation and health-facility support. Today’s discussions highlighted findings of the assessments and provided key insights into the possibilities of forging a potential partnership that responds to the increasing demands of delivering essential healthcare commodities to facilities in time.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health – Government of Sierra Leone.

Source: APO

In eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan, more than 117,000 refugees live in the Ouré-Cassoni camp. As new families continue to arrive after fleeing the war in Sudan, needs are increasing while humanitarian funding is declining. In this isolated camp, the consequences of reduced aid are being felt directly in people’s daily lives. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges for Ouré-Cassoni to be among the priorities of the humanitarian response in Chad.

Sadia knows Ouré-Cassoni from the inside

Sadia arrived in Ouré-Cassoni with her family after fleeing violence in Sudan. Today, she works in the camp as a health promoter with MSF.

“I arrived here as a refugee and today I work with other refugees,” says Sadia. “I know what it means to wonder what tomorrow will bring.”

Ouré-Cassoni is located in a remote region of Ennedi-Est, in north-eastern Chad. Its isolation makes access to services and the delivery of aid more difficult. Since the war in Sudan began in April 2023, the camp has experienced several waves of arrivals.

More than 60,000 people arrived in May 2025 following the fall of Zamzam camp, in North Darfur state. Following the takeover of El-Fasher, more than 21,000 new arrivals were registered between October 2025 and August 2026. MSF teams continue to observe daily arrivals from Sudan.

The camp is therefore growing, but the resources allocated to the humanitarian response do not follow the same trajectory.

When food assistance is reduced

For families in Ouré-Cassoni, the insufficiency of food is very real, it means not having enough to put on the table for their children. Salwa, a mother in the camp, explains.

“There are times when we do not know what we will feed our children the next day,” she says. “When distributions are reduced, we have to make do with very little.”

MSF teams are also seeing an increase in malnutrition among the children screened. Between 2025 and 2026, severe acute malnutrition increased from 2.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent, while moderate acute malnutrition increased from 10 to 13 per cent.

Behind these percentages are children arriving at health facilities in need of nutritional support, and parents trying every day to find ways to feed their families. The reduction in food assistance adds further pressure. This situation forces families to make difficult choices.

“Before, we could at least rely on distributions to help us feed the children,” says Salwa. “Now, we have to do more with what we have. When there is not enough food, the whole family suffers.”

Two litres of water a day

Water is another urgent concern. In Ouré-Cassoni, only around two litres of water is available per person per day, far below the 15 to 20 litres generally recommended in emergency situations.

Getting this water to families requires a complex chain: pumping it from the lake, treating it, checking its quality, transporting it, and distributing it across the different areas of the camp. For MSF, this shows what funding makes possible – or no longer makes possible – in concrete terms on the ground. Reduced funding translates into less clean water being provided to people in the camp.

In July, more than 14 per cent of consultations carried out by MSF in the camp concerned cases of non-bloody diarrhoea. Although a lack of clean drinking water is not the only cause, it is certainly among the causing factors.

“When we talk about humanitarian funding, we also need to think about very concrete needs: keeping pumps running, treating water and making sure it reaches families in sufficient quantities and on a regular basis,” says Joshua Ayuba Mpato, MSF project coordinator in Ouré-Cassoni.

“For people living in Ouré-Cassoni, access to safe water in sufficient quantities is not a luxury: it is a basic necessity for their health and dignity,” he says.

A precarious roof and difficult access to healthcare

After food and water, shelter is one of the main needs identified by communities. Thousands of families have to improvise homes using whatever materials they can find, often in conditions that provide limited protection.

These living conditions also have consequences for health. Respiratory infections, particularly those associated with precarious housing conditions, account for more than 30 per cent of MSF consultations across different areas of the camp and among all age groups.

However, Ouré-Cassoni has only one health centre, and specialist healthcare is not directly available within the camp. People requiring specialist care must be referred to other facilities, where only critical cases are supported financially.

Dire living conditions and lack of assistance also translate into increased risks for women and girls, who are forced to leave the camp to collect water and firewood. Between January and July 2026, MSF teams provided care to 91 victims and survivors of sexual violence in Ouré-Cassoni. Although it is not possible to determine how much of this violence took place in Chad after people fled Sudan, going outside the camp exposes women to an increased risk of violence.

A huge camp, a shrinking response

It is against this backdrop that the question of Ouré-Cassoni’s place in the humanitarian response arises. Ouré-Cassoni was not included in the priority areas outlined in the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Chad. For MSF, the contrast is concerning. Needs are increasing at the very time that available resources are decreasing.

“Ouré-Cassoni must be a priority for donors,” says Ayuba Mpato. “We are talking about more than 117,000 people, with considerable needs, and new arrivals every day. The situation we are seeing here is not sustainable. Needs are increasing, but resources are not keeping pace. Without an urgent increase in assistance, the gap between people’s needs and the humanitarian response will only continue to widen.”

In Ouré-Cassoni, the consequences of reductions in aid are therefore not abstract. They are felt in the meals families are able to provide, in the amount of water available, in precarious shelters, and in inaccessible healthcare.

For MSF, the scale and urgency of the needs in Ouré-Cassoni fully justify prioritisation of the camp in the humanitarian response in Chad.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

Source: APO

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At a hospital at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, ward afterward is filled with young men recovering from road traffic injuries, many from boda boda (motorcycle) accidents. What stands out is not only the scale, but the pattern: these are often the most economically active members of society. For many families, a single crash means the loss of a breadwinner, rising medical costs, and long-term hardship.

These are not isolated stories. Across the continent, similar tragedies unfold every day, reshaping families and placing long term strain on communities and health systems. It is a reminder that road safety is not abstract. It is deeply personal and urgently in need of action.

This is the human face of what UN Special Envoy Jean Todt has called a silent pandemic.

Every year, road traffic crashes claim over 1.2 million lives globally and leave tens of millions more injured. Yet this crisis rarely commands the urgency it deserves. For Africa, the stakes are particularly high.

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people in Africa, cutting short lives and undermining future growth. Beyond the human toll, the economic cost is equally alarming. Road crashes consume an estimated 3 to 5% of GDP in many African countries, draining productivity, straining health systems, and slowing development. Road safety must therefore be understood not only as an infrastructure or health issue, but as a central economic priority.

Over the past decade, African countries have made commitments. Policies have been drafted and frameworks adopted at national and regional levels. Yet progress has been uneven. Too often, road safety efforts remain plans rather than results. The gap between commitment and lives saved remains too wide.

This is not due to a lack of knowledge. As Jean Todt has emphasized, the solutions are well established. Safer road design, enforcement of speed limits, use of seatbelts and UN standard helmets, and improved vehicle safety all work. What is missing is implementation at scale, backed by political will and financing. Too many initiatives remain under resourced, fragmented, or unimplemented.

Rwanda offers a clear example of what this can look like in practice. “The country already reports roughly 11.6 road deaths per 100,000 people, compared with more than 19 across the rest of the continent” notes Robert Lisinge. It has moved beyond policy commitments into actual implementation. Rwanda adopted UN Regulation helmets, invested in national testing equipment, and built a certification system through the Rwanda Standards Board so riders can trust that a helmet on the market actually meets the standard. It is a demonstration that the gap between commitment and results can be closed.

The challenge is compounded by limited capacity and funding. Strategies are developed but not executed. Pilot projects are launched but not scaled. Momentum is lost, while human and economic costs continue to rise. Recognizing the problem is not enough. What is the solution?

Reframing road safety as an investment, one that protects human capital and supports economic growth, is essential.

This is where the Economic Commission for Africa can play a critical role. With its convening power, ECA is well positioned to elevate road safety within Africa’s development agenda. By framing it in economic terms, it can bring it into decision making spaces, particularly among finance ministries, while helping address financing gaps and drive implementation. The Rwanda helmet program is one example of this role in action, where ECA’s partnership with the FIA (International Automobile Federation) Foundation helped move national regulation and testing capacity from commitment to implementation.

Therefore, countries do not need to start from zero. Lessons from Rwanda, on certification, testing, and enforcement, can help other African countries move faster and avoid the same trial and error, and the ECA is well placed to broker that peer learning; connecting road safety agencies, standards bodies, and finance ministries across borders so that what worked in one country informs implementation in the next.

The ECA can also strengthen accountability. Progress should not be measured by strategies adopted, but by reductions in deaths and injuries. Stronger data systems and regional monitoring will be key to ensuring real impact.

At the same time, ECA can promote practical, scalable solutions. WHO and UN frameworks are clear that proven interventions can save lives quickly and at low cost. These include safer infrastructure, stronger enforcement, and access to protective equipment such as UN standard helmets.

Helmets, which cost around 20 dollars, are a simple and effective solution that could also stimulate local manufacturing and create market opportunities across the continent. Requiring that every motorbike purchase include two helmets could significantly reduce fatalities and injuries. When implemented consistently and at scale, such measures deliver immediate results.

That gap between owning a helmet and owning a safe one is not hypothetical. In Rwanda, observational research found that 98.7% of motorcyclists and passengers wore helmets, yet only 71% wore them properly, and over a third of helmets in use were visibly damaged. Certification and enforcement, not just availability, are what turn helmet use into real protection, and the resulting shift in market demand toward certified helmets shows the manufacturing opportunity is already taking shape.

Africa stands at a pivotal moment. Rapid urbanization and motorisation mean that without action, road traffic injuries will continue to rise. Yet this trajectory can be reversed with the right combination of political will, investment, and coordinated action.

Addressing road safety is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. It is about protecting lives, preserving human capital, and safeguarding development gains. The tools already exist. What is needed now is the determination to act at scale and with urgency.

Breaking the cycle of this silent pandemic will require leadership. The ECA has both the platform and the responsibility to help drive that change.

Robert Lisinge concludes; “Rwanda shows that this shift is possible. One standard, one certification mark, and consistent enforcement are already changing outcomes there, offering a model the rest of the continent can follow.” 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Source: APO

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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is emerging as a potential tool for Africa to reduce emissions from existing oil and gas infrastructure while preserving asset value and opening new investment opportunities. The role of the technology will come under discussion at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, as part of the Energy Additions Forum.

The dedicated panel, “Carbon Capture and Storage: Turning Africa’s Oil and Gas Asset into Climate Solutions,” will examine how carbon-management technologies can support lower-emissions hydrocarbon production, extend the economic life of existing infrastructure and create new commercial opportunities across the energy sector.

The opportunity spans the continent’s existing geological and industrial infrastructure. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs across North, West and Southern Africa could provide permanent carbon storage, while established pipelines, processing facilities and industrial sites could serve as the foundations for regional decarbonization hubs.

Investment opportunities extend across the carbon-management value chain. Capture facilities at refineries, power plants and industrial sites could connect to shared pipeline and shipping networks before transporting CO₂ to saline aquifers or depleted reservoirs. Developing this infrastructure could create new businesses serving multiple emitters while generating long-term transportation and storage revenues.

CCUS could also create additional value from Africa’s natural gas resources. Retrofitting hydrogen production with carbon capture could support blue hydrogen, while captured carbon could potentially be used as a feedstock for industrial chemicals, building materials and synthetic fuels. These applications could broaden the commercial case for carbon management beyond permanent underground storage.

Policy and carbon-market frameworks will be critical to bringing projects to scale. Nigeria is developing a more structured carbon-market architecture, with its National Carbon Market Framework and Carbon Market Activation Policy establishing mechanisms for project registration, international carbon transfers and corresponding adjustments. Planned carbon-tax and emissions-trading mechanisms could provide further incentives for high-emitting industries to adopt carbon-management technologies.

South Africa is similarly moving from geological research toward commercial CCUS applications. The Leandra pilot in Mpumalanga has advanced understanding of deep saline formations, while collaboration between the Council for Geoscience and Sasol is examining opportunities to capture and store industrial emissions and potentially convert captured carbon into commercially useful products.

Across the continent, emerging projects demonstrate the range of approaches available. Kenya is exploring basalt mineralization, in which injected carbon dioxide reacts with volcanic rock and becomes permanently mineralized, while Nigeria continues to build its carbon-storage knowledge base and South Africa assesses additional onshore and offshore basins.

For Africa’s oil and gas producers, the development of CCS infrastructure could ultimately provide a pathway to address emissions from existing assets while creating new industries around carbon transportation, storage and utilization. The scale and commercial viability of that opportunity, however, will depend on investment, policy frameworks, infrastructure and cross-border cooperation.

“CCS gives Africa a practical pathway to reduce emissions while continuing to develop its oil and gas resources. With the right investment and policy frameworks, we can turn our geological resources and existing infrastructure into a new carbon-management industry that creates jobs, attracts capital and keeps more value on the continent,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.