MONITORING REGIONAL TRENDS  RSS FEED

  • NewsBrief, 13-19 May 2013

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS and EU discuss governance and food security; EUR 3.2 billion for the reconstruction of Mali; project to refill Lake Chad to launch in 2017; Niger returns 15% of oil and mining revenues to host communities; and the IFC supports business climate improvements in Côte d’Ivoire.More

  • NewsBrief, 6-12 May 2013

    This week’s focus: World Economic Forum on Africa; Mali’s government seeks to reassert control over Kidal; a new team at the head of CILSS; a regional effort to combat malaria; and Burkina Faso promotes culture as a tool for development.More

  • NewsBrief, 29 April-5 May 2013

    This week’s focus: FEWS NET issues food price warning; political protests turn deadly in Guinea; security forces foil coup plot in Chad; ECOWAS moves to strengthen Parliament mandate; and Manu River countries seek greater transport links.More

  • NewsBrief, 22-28 April 2013

    This week’s focus: UN to send peacekeepers to Mali; conflicting accounts amid escalation of violence in Nigeria; charting a course for the Abidjan-Lagos highway; and the Innovation Prize for Africa highlights West African talent.More

  • NewsBrief, 15-21 April 2013

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS promotes girls’ education; a new West African network to improve the management of transparent and democratic elections; Côte d’Ivoire holds local elections; and three political parties quit Mauritania’s ruling coalition.More

  • NewsBrief, 8-14 April 2013

    This week’s focus: Stakeholders approve roadmap for the Global Alliance for Resilience; withdrawal of French and Chadian troops from northern Mali, EU offers CFA francs 13 billion in support of economic governance; and confronting illegal trade in cultural goods.More

  • NewsBrief, 1-7 April 2013

    This week’s focus: CILSS ministerial meeting focuses on resilience-building initiatives; ECOWAS and development partners meet to improve co-ordination and foster regional integration; SWAC launches a new interactive tool to map regional settlement trends and better inform food security policies.More

  • NewsBrief, 25-31 March 2013

    This week’s focus: Emerging giants engage with Africa; a new Asian power on the continent; UN Secretary-General envisions 11 000 peacekeepers in Mali; three West African leaders visit the White House; Senegal seeks opportunity in Islamic finance; and West Africa says good-bye to Chinua Achebe.More

  • NewsBrief, 18-24 March 2013

    This week’s focus: Mali, one year after the military coup; UEMOA presents annual report, records 5.8% GDP growth; the EU reviews its Sahel strategy, names a new representative; ECOWAS prepares new strategic orientations for 2016-2020 and adopts a new common external tariff.More

  • NewsBrief, 11-17 March 2013

    This week’s focus: Towards a UN stabilisation mission in Mali; strengthening military co-operation between Mali and Mauritania; increased agricultural production in the Sahel and West Africa; Côte d’Ivoire seeks new investment from Lebanon and Kuwait; tense political dialogue in Togo; and a new vaccination campaign against measles and rubella.More

  • NewsBrief, 4-10 March 2013

    This week's focus: Ghana continues to suffer from power sector problems; failed coup attempt to oust Benin's President Boni Yayi; ECOWAS plans to establish biometric identity cards for community citizens; and new taxes on banana and rubber to fund agricultural research in Côte d’Ivoire.More

  • NewsBrief, 26 February-3 March 2013

    This week’s focus: Regional leaders gather for 42nd ECOWAS Summit; West Africa shows robust economic growth; new partnerships to meet the climate challenge; and Senegal takes top honours at FESPACO.More

  • NewsBrief, 18-25 February 2013

    This week’s focus: President Koroma puts national prosperity at the heart of second term; new strategies to combat terrorism and piracy; UEMOA uses public-private partnerships to develop renewable energy sector; and a new electoral impasse in Guinea.More

  • NewsBrief, 11-17 February 2013

    This week’s focus: strategic reorientation for AFISMA; creation of a Peace and Security Council at CEN-SAD; Burkina Faso joins the New Alliance for Food Security; FPI announces boycott of Ivorian municipal elections; and progress on the Cotonou-Niamey-Ouagadougou-Abidjan rail loop.More

  • NewsBrief, 4-10 February 2013

    This week’s focus: debate on Mali’s future and setbacks: Islamist insurgents attack Gao, suicide bombings and fratricide attacks; Ghana, no longer a haven for Gbagbo supporters?; new initiatives to fight terrorism and drug trafficking; and Nigeria wins the African Cup of Nations, a success for all of West Africa.More

  • NewsBrief, 28 January - 3 February 2013

    This week’s focus: Donors pledge USD 450 million for Mali intervention; West Africa leads on press freedom; ECOWAS and USAID join forces to promote food trade; and Gambian civil servants get a day off.More

  • NewsBrief, 21-27 January 2013

    This week’s focus: Liberation of Goa and Timbuktu; slow deployment of African forces (AFISMA); progress toward “Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline”; Côte d’Ivoire benefits from the UEMOA Regional Economic Programme; and South-South co-operation: new Chinese and Indian loans for Benin and Burkina Faso.More

  • NewsBrief, 14-20 January 2013

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS engages in the war in northern Mali; EU prioritises humanitarian aid for the Sahel; fire engulfs two large markets in Togo; UEMOA programme to support SMEs; Blé Goudé extradited to Côte d’Ivoire; and West Africa is favoured in CAN 2013.More

  • NewsBrief, 7-13 January 2013

    This week’s focus: French-led military intervention stops Islamist offensive in northern Mali; IMF supports Côte d’Ivoire’s economic recovery and reconciliation process; new co-operation agreements between Niger-Turkey and China-Côte d’Ivoire and a new FESPACO Special Peace and Security Prize for filmmakers.More

  • NewsBrief, 31 Dec 2012 - 6 Jan 2013

    This week’s focus: West Africa welcomes the New Year; Mali Islamist group revokes ceasefire; Ghana opposition shuns inauguration; and the regional food security outlook for 2013.More

  • NewsBrief, 10-16 December 2012

    This week’s focus: new transitional government formed by Malian Prime Minister Diango Cissoko; officials move to advance a common external tariff; ECOWAS ministers urge action on youth employment; and Lagos is the new game in town.More

  • NewsBrief, 3-9 December 2012

    This week’s focus: Stakeholders launch the Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative (AGIR); Ghana’s president wins new mandate; West Africa shows strong macroeconomic performance; and UEMOA rewards quality in business.More

  • NewsBrief, 26 November-2 December 2012

    This week’s focus: Burkina Faso welcomes Sahel and West Africa Week; Burkinabe voters chose a new parliament; the UN Chief supports international intervention in Mali; and West Africa shows mixed progress on World AIDS Day.More

  • NewsBrief, 19-25 November 2012

    This week’s focus: Sierra Leonean voters give Koroma a second mandate; Mauritania’s president returns after lengthy recovery abroad; The ICC orders the arrest of Simone Gbagbo; and the cocoa industry converges on Côte d’Ivoire.More

  • NewsBrief, 12-18 November 2012

    This week’s focus: Sierra Leoneans go to the polls; Ivorian president sacks cabinet; AU approves Mali intervention plan; and Côte d’Ivoire returns to the skies.More

  • NewsBrief, 5-11 November 2012

    This week’s focus: Campaigns in full swing as election season gets underway; ECOWAS leaders approve a military strategy for Mali; Cocoa growers benefit from price guarantees; and UEMOA’s central bank marks a half century.More

  • NewsBrief, 29 October - 4 November 2012

    This week’s focus: Mali militants come to the negotiation table; Mauritanian opposition agitates in President’s absence; regional fisheries seen as vulnerable to collapse; and UEMOA launches information system for agriculture markets.More

  • NewsBrief, 22-28 October 2012

    This week’s focus: Flooding impacts millions in West Africa; Failed plots against the leaders of Benin and Guinea-Bissau; ECOWAS expands co-operation with China; and UEMOA tackles education standards.More

  • NewsBrief, 15-21 October 2012

    This week's focus: Stakeholders observe World Food Day; West Africa gets mixed reviews in Mo Ibrahim Index; Strategy session for Mali intervention; UN sees fewer displaced from Mali; and Ghana's electoral commission rejects former first lady.More

  • NewsBrief, 10-14 October 2012

    This week’s focus: Mauritania’s president survives shooting; the UN Security Council moves toward action in Mali; from first lady to presidential candidate in Ghana; francophone leaders discuss economics, politics and crisis; and new technology to boost rice productionMore

  • NewsBrief, 3-9 October 2012

    This week’s focus: a new military reform committee in Mali headed by Captain Sanogo; Niger plans to develop its North; new ECOWAS measures to improve education; building capacity to protect people and property.More

  • NewsBrief, 26 September - 2 October 2012

    This week’s focus: West Africa welcomes AGIR initiative on food security; UN High-Level Meeting considers Mali strategy; Guinea secures relief from external debt; and Mauritania issues a sunny economic forecast.More

  • NewsBrief, 19-25 September 2012

    This week’s focus: UN hopes to re-energize international support for the Sahel; Mali and ECOWAS reach agreement on military deployment; Côte d'Ivoire shuts borders with Ghana; and a new strategy against malaria yields results in the SahelMore

  • NewsBrief, 12-18 September 2012

    This week’s focus: promising food and economic growth prospects within UEMOA and new solidarity measures to help flood-affected member countries; ECOWAS moves to prepare the deployment of its Standby Force to Mali; the 27th celebration of CILSS Day highlights community-based food storage.More

  • NewsBrief, 5-11 September 2012

    This week’s focus: CILSS countries witness good harvests; locust threat under control; UEMOA announces a regional disaster management strategy; first ECOAGRIS Progress Report validated.More

  • NewsBrief, 29 August - 4 September 2012

    This week’s focus: Mali formally requests ECOWAS military assistance; Senegal abolishes the Senate to have funds for infrastructure; universities open their doors after two years in Côte d’Ivoire; UEMOA supports natural resource development in Guinea-BissauMore

  • News Brief 22-28 August 2012

    This week’s focus: The Gambia executes nine prisoners; Gbagbo aides are arrested in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; Togolese opposition call for sex strikes and sit-ins; Cholera and floods threaten populations throughout West Africa; UEMOA plans to establish parliament in BamakoMore

  • NewsBrief, 8-21 August 2012

    This week’s focus: Mali announces “Government of National Union”; West African leaders commiserate the death of late President Atta-Mills; Côte d’Ivoire sees outbreak of fresh violence; UEMOA collaborates with East African Community on monetary policy; China to construct an agricultural research centre in Mali.More

  • NewsBrief, 1-7 August 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS community parliament to become more powerful; eliminating Malaria by 2015; new action plan to boost regional-wide access to energy services; remittances as a lever for development. The next edition of the NewsBrief will be released on 21 August.More

  • NewsBrief, 25-31 July 2012

    This week’s focus: Toward a more inclusive transitional government in Mali; African First Ladies unite to promote peace, and UEMOA goes digital by 2015.More

  • NewsBrief, 18-24 July 2012

    This week’s focus: Former Chadian President Habré facing prosecution in Senegal; ICC launches investigations in Mali; UEMOA finances fight against crop-destroying locusts; Togo gets a new Prime Minister; violence in western Côte d'Ivoire.More

  • NewsBrief, 11-17 July 2012

    This week’s focus: The MNLA drops its claims for independence after losing control of key cities; African Union plans Free Trade Area for continent; EU collaborates with Nigerien forces to counter al Qaeda in the Sahel; African leaders reinforce the importance of women in trade and agricultureMore

  • NewsBrief, 4-10 July 2012

    This week’s focus: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo will become CILSS members; the UN Security Council endorsed West African political effort to end unrest in Mali but did not back any military intervention; Foreign Direct Investment is expected to double by 2014; ECOWAS leaders approved regional policy for the development of renewable energy sources.More

  • NewsBrief, 27 June – 3 July 2012

    This week’s focus: Islamist rebels destroy Timbuktu tombs amidst international outcry; ECOWAS urges acceleration of the deployment of its Standby Force Mission in Mali (MICEMA); UEMOA and AFD reinforce their partnership in order to implement a joint food security policy.More

  • NewsBrief, 20-26 June 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS and UEMOA strengthen their relationship with the EU; recent attacks in northern Nigeria prompt U.S. government to blacklist three Boko Haram leaders; UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro encourages African commitment to sustainability.More

  • NewsBrief, 13-19 June 2012

    This week’s focus: Fatou Bensouda from The Gambia becomes the first African Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court; UN considers supporting ECOWAS forces in Mali; Mano River Union strengthen commitments to border security; and the ECOWAS Council of Ministers recommends increasing number of Commissioners.More

  • NewsBriefs, 6-12 June 2012

    This week’s focus: Liberia closes its border with Côte d’Ivoire; MNLA rebels eager to negotiate with ECOWAS; Locusts threaten crops in Mali and Niger; CILSS calls on renewed commitment to food crisisMore

  • NewsBrief, 30 May - 5 June 2012

    This week’s focus: Plane crash in Lagos kills at least157 people; new emergency measures taken by West African Ministers to address the food crisis in the Sahel; full deployment of ECOMIB troops in Guinea-Bissau; UEMOA growth prospects are weakened by political instability in Mali and Guinea-Bissau.More

  • NewsBrief, 23-29 May 2012

    This week’s focus: Rebel forces merge in Mali; soldiers return to their barracks in Bissau; land disputes sparks border violence; women’s role in agricultural development; and ECOWAS celebrates its 37th yearMore

  • NewsBrief, 16-22 May 2012

    This week’s focus: Political tensions erupt into violence in Mali; peacekeepers arrive in Guinea-Bissau; G8 nations announce private investments for food security; the UN Security Council tours West Africa; and Mali’s cotton sector shows resilience.More

  • NewsBrief, 9-15 May 2012

    This week’s focus: President Condé halts Guinea’s Electoral Commission operations amidst protests; ECOWAS leaders express concern about Mali’s transition process and threaten to re-establish targeted sanctions; the Committee on World Food Security endorsed voluntary global land tenure guidelines to improve the management of land resources; HIV/AIDS rates stabilise in West Africa.More

  • NewsBrief, 2-8 May 2012

    This week’s focus: New clashes in Bamako; desecration of a Muslim Saint’s tomb in Timbuktu; the ECOWAS Standby Force is getting ready for deployment in Mali and Guinea-Bissau; agricultural experts discuss challenges related to the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme; a World Bank report monitors the impact of food prices and nutrition on the achievement of the MDGs.More

  • NewsBrief, 25 April - 1 May 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit decides to deploy an ECOWAS Standby Force in Guinea-Bissau and Mali, and calls for elections within a 12-month transitional period; The Land Matrix online database compiles information on large-scale land deals; and a new alliance between ECOWAS, Cuba and Venezuela to fight malaria.More

  • NewsBrief, 18-24 April 2012

    This week’s focus: former NASA astrophysicist Cheick Modibo Diarra becomes Mali’s Prime Minister; junta leaders’ plans to form a two-year transitional government in Guinea-Bissau are widely rejected; and ECOWAS approves a Common Humanitarian Policy to improve the management of humanitarian crises in the region.More

  • NewsBrief, 11-17 April 2012

    This week’s focus: Military coup in Guinea-Bissau; Mali opens talks with Tuareg rebels; new regional leadership to address food security; ECOWAS plan to strengthen informal trade.More

  • NewsBrief, 4-10 April 2012

    This week’s focus: Mali military junta moves towards restoring constitutional order while the National Movement for the Liberalisation of Azawad declared independence for Azawad; deadly attacks spoil Easter celebrations in Nigeria; towards a new regional livestock sector strategy; and Mauritania achieves success in the “long run”More

  • NewsBrief, 28 March – 3 April 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS threatens to use force against the military junta in Mali while Tuareg rebels take control of the North; instability in Mali is worsening the food crisis that is already impacting 13 million people in the Sahel; and UEMOA holds a workshop on ways to implement a regional mechanism for reinforcing and co-ordinating national food security stocks.More

  • NewsBrief, 21-27 March 2012

    This week’s focus: The international community strongly condemns the coup d’état in Mali; a peaceful democratic transition in Senegal; and ECOWAS holds a symposium on ways to advance the implementation of the West African Common Industrial Policy.More

  • NewsBrief, 14-20 March 2012

    This week’s focus: CILSS hosts a conference on ways to develop regional trade in a context of rising agricultural prices; the situation in Africa is a key topic at the 6th World Water Forum; and the AU expresses concern over the worsening human and food security situation in the Sahel region.More

  • NewsBrief, 7-13 March 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence meet to discuss regional security issues with the Sahel region and off the Gulf of Guinea; UEMOA opens its 29th Inter-parliamentary Committee; and ECOWAS launches an Agricultural Information System in seven member countries.More

  • NewsBrief, 29 February - 6 March 2012

    This week’s focus: Kadré Ouédraogo assumed office as the new ECOWAS Commission President; an estimated 80 000 people have fled from Mali to neighbouring countries; and a new regional network of food stock offices aimed at facilitating information-sharing (RESOGEST).More

  • NewsBrief, 22-28 February 2012

    This week’s focus: Senegalese go to the polls for contentious presidential election; 130 000 displaced by Mali rebellion; ICC expands investigation in Côte d’Ivoire; and a new oil discovery in the Gulf of Guinea.More

  • NewsBrief, 15-21 February 2012

    This week’s focus: ECOWAS elects new leaders; Sahel food crisis and security top the agenda at regional summit; joint AU-ECOWAS mission visits Senegal; Liberians to lose refugee status; and sports diplomacy to promote integration.More

  • NewsBrief, 8-14 February 2012

    This week’s focus: West African leaders reach deal on ECOWAS leadership; South-South co-operation tops ACP agenda for 2012 a new task force on oil revenues in Nigeria and rising insecurity in northern Mali...More

  • NewsBrief, 1-7 February 2012

    This week's focus: Mali’s president calls for unity as Tuareg rebels resume attacks in the north; food security risks in the Sahel; Senegalese opposition leaders join forces as campaign gets under way and security concerns in Nigeria.More

  • NewsBrief, 15-22 November 2011

    This week’s focus: Guinea becomes a member of CILSS; the Charter for Food Crisis Prevention and Management is adopted by West African countries; 2nd visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Africa; Côte d’Ivoire: Gbagbo soon to be transferred to the ICC?More

  • NewsBrief, 9-14 November 2011

    This week’s focus: Candidates for the Gambia’s presidential elections begin eleven day campaign; The Nigerian army successfully blocks a heavily armed convoy crossing the Libya-Niger border; Tubman wants results of run-off election annulled; and the M23 demands that President Wade remove his name from the list of candidates for the February elections.More

  • NewsBrief, 2-8 November 2011

    This week’s focus: Tubman announced will not participate in run-off elections and called on supporters to boycott the elections; Boko Haram attack in Damaturu is deadliest to date, killing anywhere from 63 to 150; and small pro-Gbagbo parties will participate in December elections despite FPI’s threat to boycott.More

  • NewsBrief, 26 October - 1 November 2011

    This week’s focus: The FPI announced that it would not participate in the December legislative elections; FAO predicts lower than usual food production in the Sahel region, putting it at risk of greater food insecurity; the Nigerien government deals with Saif al-Islam’s possible presence in the country ; and coalitions area already forming in anticipation of Senegal’s Feburary presidential elections.More

  • NewsBrief, 19-25 October 2011

    This week’s focus: Togo is elected a non-permament member of the UN Security Council; New hopes for an Anti-malaria vaccine; Mauritanian armed forces destroy a AQIM base in western Mali; ECOWAS assigns new commissioner positions although Benin and Burkina Faso are still negotiating for the presidency; Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou warns that country is likely to face another food crisis this year.More

  • NewsBrief, 12-18 October 2011

    This week’s focus: Liberian President Sirlear wins the first round of elections; Saharo-sahelian countries launch a joint initiative against drug trafficking; Goodluck Johnathan lobbies for the removal of fuel subsidies from the 2012 federal budget; West Africa faces one of the biggest cholera epidemics in the region’s history; and 450 000 Ivoirians still displaced in sheltering communities or in neighbouring LiberiaMore

  • NewsBrief, 5-11 October 2011

    This week’s focus: Liberian President Sirleaf declared Nobel Laureate, the ICC begins investigation of post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire; ECOWAS sends 150 observers to Liberia for upcoming presidential elections; and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) successfully negociates passage out of Libya to Chad for 1 200 of the trapped African migrants.More

  • NewsBrief, 9-14 November 2011

    This week’s focus: Candidates for the Gambia’s presidential elections begin eleven day campaign; The Nigerian army successfully blocks a heavily armed convoy crossing the Libya-Niger border; Tubman wants results of run-off election annulled; and the M23 demands that President Wade remove his name from the list of candidates for the February elections.More