China announced USD 60 billion in additional financing to support Africa’s development at the 3rd Forum for Africa-China Co-operation (FOCAC) Summit, which was held in Beijing on 3-4 September. The biggest Africa event in China brought together leaders from nearly all African countries (except Swaziland), Chinese officials and representatives from the African Union Commission. The Beijing Declaration outlined a new commitment called, “Toward an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.” The declaration is supported by a 2019-21 action plan. Burkina Faso and Gambia joined the forum as new members. Read on

CILSS and the G5 Sahel held a dialogue workshop at the Agrhrymet Regional Centre in Niamey on 12-14 August. As a follow-up to the co-operation framework signed in February 2018, experts from both organisations gathered to explore opportunities to build synergy between key parts of the G5 Sahel Strategy for Security and Development and the 2020 CILSS Strategic Plan. Read on

In his most recent article published on the Ideas4Development blog, Laurent Bossard, director of the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat, takes a look at the paradox of Sahelian women. Despite the key socio-economic role they play in Sahelian communities, they remain marginalised and are sometimes deprived of their fundamental rights. Read on

Numerous extremists groups are active across the Sahara-Sahel area and in the Lake Chad region. Most are extremely mobile and operate easily across national territories because of the porous nature of national borders in the region. Their actions are being increasingly constrained by military responses launched by national governments in alliance with international partners. Read on