MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO

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Work has resumed on a multipurpose laboratory at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Sokode Campus, reflecting President John Dramani Mahama’s “Reset Agenda”. At the centre of this effort is the renewed drive to complete the university’s 5,300-square-metre Laboratory Complex.

The project, which began in 2014, stalled for years, creating a critical gap in local medical education. Its revival now supports the Reset Agenda’s goal of decentralising development and equipping Ghanaian youth with world-class, practical skills.

Upon completion, the facility will be the largest of its kind in Ghana and the wider sub-region.

Built to accommodate over 1,200 students and staff, the five-block complex will house specialised research, anatomy, and radiology simulation labs. This scale shifts instruction from theory to high-value, hands-on training. With access to advanced simulation equipment, students will graduate ready to transition directly into the global medical workforce.

Beyond education, the facility supports the Reset Agenda’s broader focus on building self-sustaining institutions. By offering diagnostic, toxicology, and research services to hospitals and private enterprises nationwide, UHAS will generate vital Internally Generated Funds (IGF), helping ensure the long-term maintenance of its high-tech equipment.

The project is an essential piece of President Mahama’s interconnected blueprint for regional growth. Because the Volta Region borders Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, the lab is expected to attract international students from across West Africa. This expectation is reinforced by synchronised road upgrades, which are making Ho more accessible and easing cross-border travel.

The resulting influx of students, researchers, and medical clients is expected to trigger a significant economic multiplier effect, bringing new commercial vitality to Ho and other towns hosting satellite campuses. As housing, transport, retail, and agriculture respond, the local economy is set for substantial growth.

Ultimately, the ongoing work at UHAS illustrates how the Reset Agenda delivers a holistic, interconnected plan that uplifts communities and drives sustainable national development.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO

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President John Dramani Mahama has announced the selection of a strategic investor to revive the defunct Volta Star Textiles Limited (formerly Juapong Textiles), as part of a major push to revitalise the local economy of the North Tongu District.

The President made the announcement during a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a new 24-hour market in Juapong. Both projects, the market and the textile factory’s revival, form part of a broader government agenda to transform the economic fortunes of North Tongu and the wider Volta Region.

Juapong was historically built around the textile company, which sustained a vibrant local economy for decades before falling on hard times and eventually shutting down. Successive administrations have attempted to revive the factory, but none succeeded in restoring it to its former glory.

Addressing chiefs and residents at the ceremony, President Mahama emphasised that reviving Volta Star Textiles remains a top priority for his administration, with the goal of generating direct jobs for the youth and stimulating a robust value chain of secondary businesses in the area.

“We are committed to bringing this vital institution back to life to serve as an anchor for local economic growth,” the President said.

A transaction adviser was previously appointed to identify and vet potential partners for the factory. President Mahama revealed that a strategic partner has now been successfully selected. The investor is expected to visit the factory soon to assess its condition and finalise plans to retool and refurbish the machinery.

To keep the plant running efficiently once operations resume, the President disclosed that cotton will initially be sourced from neighbouring Benin.

Volta Star Textiles specialises in producing grey baft, a semi-finished woven fabric used as raw material for finished textile production. Beyond creating factory jobs, the plant’s revival is expected to boost the agricultural sector by providing local and regional cotton farmers a guaranteed market for their produce.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.

Source: APO – Report:

UN Women Liberia, with support from the Governments of Norway and Sweden, has officially launched the Liberia Care Snapshot, a landmark rapid assessment that highlights the critical role of paid and unpaid care work in driving inclusive economic growth and advancing women’s economic empowerment.

The launch follows the Regional Dialogue on Advancing Care Economies and Systems in West and Central Africa, held virtually on 4 June 2026, which also marked the regional launch of the Care Snapshots. The dialogue brought together more than 100 participants from across West and Central Africa, including government representatives, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, researchers, and regional institutions.

The national launch of the Liberia Care Snapshot marks an important milestone in initiating a structured national policy dialogue on strengthening the country’s care economy, learning from 2024 Ganta Declaration and Call to Action. The Liberia Care Snapshot is co-led by national authorities and the launch convened 50 representatives from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Liberia Business Association (LIBA), Central Bank of Liberia, Orange Foundation, ActionAid Liberia, civil society organizations, academia, youth groups, the media, development partners and private sector.

Participants reviewed the report’s findings and engaged in an interactive dialogue on the policy actions needed to strengthen Liberia’s care economy.

Presenting the findings, John Solunta Smith Jr., UN Women Liberia’s Feminist Economist Specialist/Gender and Economic Policy Specialist, highlighted the enormous economic contribution of women and the transformative potential of investments in care. 

He also emphasized that across West and Central Africa, addressing the unequal distribution of care responsibilities could boost regional GDP by an estimated 6–10 per cent by enabling more women to participate fully in the labor force.

Speaking at the launch, UN Women Liberia Representative Dr. Abul Hasnat Monjurul Kabir underscored that care work is fundamental to Liberia’s economic development.

“Women contribute an estimated USD 530 million annually through unpaid care and domestic work, in addition to more than USD 1 billion in market-based economic output. Strategic investments in childcare, eldercare and other care services have the potential to stimulate economic growth, create decent jobs, reduce poverty and expand opportunities for women and families across Liberia. Investing in care is therefore not a cost, it is a smart investment that yields substantial social and economic returns.”

Delivering remarks on behalf of the Government of Liberia, Deputy Minister for Research, Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Curtis V. Dorley, reflected on Liberia’s participation in the regional launch and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to advancing the care agenda.

“The message from the region is clear: care is not a social cost. Care is a productive investment.”

He noted that as Liberia advances implementation of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, investments in childcare services, social protection, water and sanitation, clean energy access, family-friendly workplace policies, and services for older persons and persons with disabilities must be recognized as strategic national development priorities.

Officially launching the Liberia Care Snapshot, Hon. Dorley emphasized that sound public policy must be grounded in credible evidence.

“This report is more than a diagnostic assessment—it is a public policy roadmap. Its findings should guide future legislation, inform national planning, strengthen budget prioritization, influence development programming, and ultimately improve the everyday lives of all Liberians.”

– on behalf of UN Women – Africa.

Source: APO

Across Africa, women’s rights organizations are providing critical services to survivors of violence, mobilizing communities, generating evidence, defending hard-won rights and holding institutions accountable. They are doing this in contexts shaped by conflict, displacement, economic uncertainty, shrinking civic space and growing backlash against gender equality.

Yet the organizations closest to women and girls remain among the least resourced.

This urgent contradiction was at the centre of the Third Regional Dialogue on Feminist Funding for Women’s Movements, convened in Nairobi by UN Women, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and Girls and partners under the European Union-funded Advocacy, Coalition-Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence against Women and Girls Programme.

The Dialogue brought together 83 participants from 15 countries across East, Southern and West Africa, including women’s rights organizations and networks, feminist funders, governments, United Nations agencies, development partners, philanthropy, regional institutions and private sector actors.

A clear message emerged: ending violence against women and girls requires more than additional funding. It requires financing that shifts power, strengthens feminist movements and responds to the realities of organizations working closest to affected communities. 

From funding gaps to feminist infrastructure 

Participants painted a stark picture of the current funding landscape. Women’s rights organizations continue to operate in environments where demand for their work is growing, while funding remains limited, unpredictable, short-term, and often difficult to access. Photo: UN Women/ UNTF Purity Kiarie

Women’s rights organizations are essential infrastructure for justice, peace, democracy and sustainable development. They often provide the first response to survivors, sustain advocacy during crises, challenge discriminatory social norms and protect civic space.

However, many continue to operate with limited, short-term and highly restricted funding. According to AWID’s 2025 Where is the Money? report, the median annual budget for feminist and women’s rights organizations and movements was only USD 22,000 in 2023. OECD data also shows that women’s organizations have received less than 1 per cent of official development assistance for gender equality.

This underfunding has direct consequences. It limits organizations’ ability to retain staff, maintain survivor services, protect activists, strengthen institutional systems, invest in evidence and plan beyond short project cycles.

Participants therefore called for feminist funding to be recognized as an investment in the systems that keep women and girls safe and enable communities to advance justice and accountability. 

From commitments to financing accountability

The Dialogue also emphasized that policy commitments must be matched by budgets, implementation and accountability.

Participants identified gender-responsive budgeting, stronger public financing for ending violence against women and girls, co-financing with development partners and formal partnerships with civil society as critical pathways for sustainable national investment.

They also called on donors and development partners to reduce bureaucratic barriers, simplify compliance requirements and expand flexible, multi-year and core funding. Funding should include resources for organizational resilience, digital and physical security, rapid response, coalition-building, leadership development, evidence generation and self and collective care.

Accountability must be mutual. Funders should be accountable for whether resources reach grassroots and marginalized groups, while funded organizations should be supported to document results, strengthen learning and demonstrate how their work improves the lives of women and girls. 

Building a wider feminist financing ecosystem

Participants called for a diversified financing ecosystem that brings together public resources, feminist funds, philanthropy, development finance, community-rooted models and accountable private sector investment.

Innovative financing can help expand available resources, but participants stressed that new approaches must remain grounded in feminist and rights-based principles. Private sector engagement should go beyond charitable contributions and address corporate leadership, governance, worker protection, investment practices and accountability for preventing violence.

The Dialogue also called for resources to reach rural women’s groups, disability-led organizations, youth-led movements, community-based organizations and groups working in conflict-affected settings. These organizations are often excluded by complex application processes, strict eligibility rules, high co-financing requirements and reporting systems designed for larger institutions. 

A collective agenda for action

The Nairobi Dialogue concluded with a shared commitment to advance more accessible, flexible, predictable, multi-year and core funding for women’s rights organizations and feminist movements across Africa.

Participants also affirmed the need to strengthen solidarity across movements, public institutions, donors, feminist funds, regional networks and private sector actors, while protecting civic space and ensuring that women’s rights organizations shape the decisions that affect their work.

The outcome is both practical and political. Funding feminist movements is not a charitable add-on. It is a necessary investment in ending violence against women and girls, protecting rights and building stronger, more accountable societies.

When feminist movements are resourced, women and girls are safer, survivor services are stronger, advocacy is sustained and communities are better equipped to resist backlash and drive lasting change.

Key takeaways

• Expand accessible, flexible, predictable, multi-year and core funding.
• Translate policy commitments into public budgets and accountable expenditure.
• Direct resources to grassroots, locally led and historically excluded organizations.
• Finance protection, resilience, evidence generation, coalition-building and care.
• Diversify financing while protecting feminist and human rights principles. ​

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women – Africa.

Source: APO – Report:

Parliament has unanimously backed a motion calling for urgent government intervention to address the worsening drought and hunger crisis affecting Northern Uganda.

The motion, moved on Thursday,  16 July 2026 by Kilak North County MP, Hon. Anthony Akol, seeks a resolution directing the Government to immediately scale up humanitarian assistance while investing in long-term climate resilience measures.

Akol called on government to urgently deliver relief food and agricultural inputs to households whose crops have failed due to the prolonged drought.

“Government should expedite the delivery of food items to support drought-affected households, as well as seedlings and planting materials for the affected people to plant immediately in the forthcoming planting season,” he said.

He further called on the Government to strengthen climate resilience by investing in early warning systems capable of providing timely weather information to farmers and local governments.

The motion also urges the Executive to fast-track the utilisation of US$38 million earmarked under the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund IV (NUSAF IV) Disaster Risk Financing Facility to respond to severe drought affecting West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja, Teso, Bukedi, Bunyoro and the Elgon sub-region.

Akol warned that the drought has evolved beyond an agricultural challenge into a humanitarian emergency.

“People have started dying of acute hunger, including children, the elderly, and pregnant mothers. It is important that the country takes action now to avert a crisis,” he said.

Legislators rallied behind the motion, agreeing that the prolonged dry spell has exposed Uganda’s vulnerability to climate change.

Tochi County MP, Hon. Peter Okot (DP), said many farmers had invested heavily in planting before the unexpected dry spell destroyed crops.

“Unless the people of Greater Northern Uganda are urgently supported, many lives will be lost,” Okot warned.

Meanwhile, Omoro County MP Andrew Ojok (NRM) proposed amending the motion to include crop insurance, arguing that Parliament repeatedly debates similar relief measures every year without addressing farmers’ vulnerability.

“If we help farmers insure their crops, we shall go a long way in protecting livelihoods,” Ojok said.

Simon Peter Longoli (NRM, Chekwii County MP) said Karamoja region has received virtually no meaningful rainfall since April.

Longoli observed that more than 1.15 million acres of crops have been destroyed, while at least 20 people have reportedly died from hunger-related causes, although government has officially confirmed 16 deaths.

He acknowledged government’s recent allocation of Shs4 billion for emergency relief and rehabilitation of water facilities but argued that the response remains inadequate compared to the scale of need.

Longoli proposed three additional interventions sustained food relief covering the six-month period before the next harvest; distribution of drought-tolerant seeds by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries; and targeted nutritional support for an estimated 120,000 malnourished children in Karamoja.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, assured legislators that government had already activated emergency interventions.

She disclosed that Cabinet had earlier considered a paper on the hunger crisis and that President Yoweri Museveni had directed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to coordinate emergency food distribution with the army.

Food stocks, the premier added, have already been positioned in Kigumba, Kiryandongo District, while the National Enterprise Corporation has been contracted to transport relief supplies to the worst-affected districts in Karamoja.

“The President has instructed OPM to use the army to supply food relief to the most affected areas. Distribution is expected to commence on Friday and MPs from affected districts should mobilise communities to receive the assistance,” Nabbanja told Parliament.

– on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO – Report:

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From July 15 to 16, the Chinese Embassy in Liberia held Conference on Implementing Zero-Tariff Measures. Ambassador Yin Chengwu attended and delivered remarks. Nearly 20 representatives from the Liberian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Customs, as well as local chambers of commerce and business organizations, participated in the conference.

​Yin stated that the zero-tariff policy, which had been applied to the least developed countries, including Liberia, since December 2024, was extended to all African countries having diplomatic relations with China in May 2026. This represents a significant milestone in broadening opening-up within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), reflecting the deepening ties between the two sides and illuminating the way forward for China-Africa cooperation. The zero-tariff policy reduces export costs, expands the export of Africa’s competitive products to China, and enhances market competitiveness. It will continue to boost local employment, attract foreign investment, and promote industrial integration. China is ready to deepen cooperation with Liberia and share the dividends of development.

The one-and-a-half days event featured primarily video presentations by Chinese experts on relevant subjects, followed by an interactive Q&A session. The Liberian participants paid close attention, posed questions with great enthusiasm, and created a vibrant atmosphere.

– on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Liberia.