UNDP Africa
Journalist from Burkina Faso awarded with Zimeo Award for reporting on Sustainable Development Goals

Journalist Nourou-Dhine Salouka was awarded with Zimeo Award for Excellence in Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on 8 December, in Nairobi, Kenya. From Burkina Faso, Salouka won the SDGs Reporting category with his news article about Samandollé, a small village in Burkina Faso that is struggling with scarce water resources and sanitation services.

 UNDP Africa
Training religious leaders about preventing violent extremism in Cameroon

Since 2014, Cameroon’s security crisis, caused by Boko Haram, has exposed the vulnerabilities and obstacles that undermine integration of disadvantaged groups, especially women and youth. To prevent youth from being radicalised, UNDP trained religious leaders from the Far North Region of Cameroon on how to identify radicalisation and how to speak with radicalised youth.

UNDP Africa
South Africa: Engaging people to share their experiences on impact of laws

Since August 2016, South Africans have had the chance to participate in public hearings about how laws passed since 1994, the first year of the African National Congress government, have affected their lives.

UNDP Africa
National human rights bodies playing key role in advancing Africa’s rights agenda, says study

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) have become an integral part of the structure for the human rights protection system in Africa, a report released on 21 October by the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) has shown.

Opening Remarks by Abdoulaye Mar Dieye at High-Level Event on Uganda’s Transformational Approach to Refugees and Host Communities

"It gives me great pleasure to participate in this important event on “Uganda’s Transformational Approach to Refugees and Host Communities: Dealing with Multiple Vulnerabilities. We are here today to mobilize support for Uganda’s forward-looking and innovative Theory of Change."

UNDP Africa
Africa: To get the future we say we want, we’ve got to get rid of corruption

As we mark the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December, one just needs to peruse the newspaper headlines across Africa to see the continent’s struggle with corruption.

AEC 2016 closes with call for agriculture to be at the centre of Africa’s development

The 11th African Economic Conference (AEC) wound up in Abuja, Nigeria on Wednesday, after three days of intensive discussions on how African countries can achieve agro-allied industrialization.

Uganda recognized at the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Human Development Reporting

Uganda’s 2015 National Human Development Report has been announced as one of the four winners of the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Human Development Reporting. This was announced by the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) during the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Human Development Reporting for national...

UNDP Africa
Sweden and the Netherlands partner with UNDP Africa on development response to growth of violent extremism

The Governments of Sweden and the Netherlands have made financial contributions of USD 3.3 million and USD 800,000 respectively towards UNDP’s regional initiative on preventing and responding to the growth of violent extremism in Africa through a development lens.

Agricultural Productivity in Resource-Rich African Countries

It is a fair to assume agricultural productivity is higher in resource-rich countries. This is because revenues from the sale of oil, gas and minerals can finance the provision of equipment, fertilizer, irrigation, credit and seed to farmers. However, agricultural productivity continues to remain modest in many of...

Launching AfHDR 2016 at AEC, UNDP stresses that women empowerment key to transforming the continent’s agriculture

According to a key finding in UNDP’s 2016 Africa Human Development Report (AfHDR) —Accelerating Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa — gender inequality costs sub-Saharan Africa about US$95 billion a year and hampers the continent’s efforts for inclusive human development and economic growth. The...

2016 African Economic Conference opens in Abuja: Agricultural transformation on the agenda

The 11th African Economic Conference (AEC) kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday with a consensus on the need to scale up the continent’s agricultural transformation to spur industrialization and inclusive growth.

 UNDP Africa
Opening Remarks by UNDP Africa Director Abdoulaye Mar Dieye at the African Economic Conference

Promoting agro-allied industrialization is an effective strategy to realize the Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. In this regard, financing agro-allied industrialization, building value chains, using technology and innovation, and promoting more equitable capabilities and opportunities for greater growth are vital to achieve productive employment and reduction in poverty and inequalities.

 UNDP Africa
Sand and gravel lay the foundation of domestic economies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific

A once neglected minerals sector may hold the key to tens of millions of jobs across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Major infrastructure ventures and rapid urbanisation are ramping up the demand for construction materials exponentially. In Africa, approximately US$360 billion in infrastructure investments are needed by 2040 to make the continent competitive and productive.

UNDP Africa
Climate and weather respect no borders, so investing in regional climate services is a must

Developing countries in Africa are among the most affected by climate change impacts, and yet remain among the least prepared to respond or cope when disaster strikes. One of the reasons is the lack of effective climate services, the collective term for collection, analysis, distribution and application of reliable weather, water and climate information used for early warning and to manage a disaster once it has occurred.

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Empowering youth by employment – UNDP scaling up YouthConnekt programme in Africa

In 2013, Rwanda launched YouthConnekt, a youth empowerment initiative. Since then, more than 13,000 young people in the country have participated in YouthConnekt debates where they have learned about work opportunities and entrepreneurship. Nearly 4,000 young Rwandans have found work through the programme. After the success of the programme in Rwanda, UNDP Africa is scaling up the programme to other African countries.

UNDP Africa
Ready, set, innovate!

At present, in all countries throughout the African continent, "innovation hubs" are being set up with support from UNDP. Such hubs target young people who want to change the world by testing out new approaches and solutions. But how do we innovate?

Stopping Violence against Women, the right and smart path to human development
Stopping Violence against Women, the right and smart path to human development

Some countries in Africa have made notable progress in enhancing women’s access to justice and reducing the incidence of sexual and gender based violence. In partnership with UNDP, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and Mozambique have improved legal frameworks, response by law enforcement agencies in handling violence against women and established stronger mechanisms for providing support to survivors.

UNDP Africa
Addressing radicalization and violent extremism through climate action

Climate change and violent extremism will be two of the major threats to the stability of states and societies in the next decades. In many countries in the continent (Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, etc.) climate change has significantly increased instability by over-stretching the already limited capacity of governments to respond.

UNDP Africa
Gender gap costs sub-Saharan Africa US$95 billion a year: New UNDP report

The newly released Africa Human Development Report 2016 finds that the gender gap is jeopardizing the continent's efforts for inclusive human development and economic growth.