Opinions

The news emerging from Hamburg were dominated by the narrative of the emerging 19 +1 on issues such as climate change or trade protectionism. Yvanka Trump replacing her father in the US seat was a particularly juicy bit, with few realizing that happened when the leaders were discussing Africa. Street…

Estimated at almost $2tn in 2015, Islamic finance is often overlooked by development organisations as a potential source of funds A student reads the Qur’an at the Al-Ashriyyah Nurul Iman Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country. Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP   Usman, a fisherman in North Sumatra, used…

The broader context of the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad region, particularly in Borno State in the northeast of Nigeria, remains largely unknown to a Western audience, and in the media coverage it is mostly the stories about Boko Haram’s atrocities that are being told.   Fleeing the Boko…

  In accelerating the implementation of these commitments, young people need to engage the leadership of the African Union commission (AUC), national governments, and policymaking institutions on how to harness the demographic dividend, which is crucial for the attainment of both the Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals…

Global health is rapidly changing. Often we influence and affect those developments, and sometimes, we do so successfully through learning based on evidence of what works. One of the lessons learned is that we can accomplish more when we work together toward common goals, aligning our resources and bringing complementary…

  How can we alleviate extreme poverty? It’s the question that underpins the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), and almost all development projects. Because poverty almost always shows itself as a lack of resources in poor communities – food, safe water, sanitation, education, healthcare – it’s reasonable to theorise that…

Far too often, the world views Africa through the prism of problems. When I look to Africa, I see a continent of hope, promise and vast potential. I am committed to building on those strengths and establishing a higher platform of cooperation between the United Nations and the leaders and…

By Ravi Karkara & Doug Ragan   Harvesting Youth Partnership by Strengthening Inclusive Participation in the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals In the year 2000, the United Nations announced the Millennium Development Goals to set a path for nation-states and citizens across the world in bringing certain fundamental changes…

Late January, African heads of state through the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) honored 13 African countries for their role in drastically reducing malaria incidence and death across the continent. From the time when ALMA was founded to 2015, the incidence of malaria has reduced by more than 60% while…