According to 2018 data from 30 member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), official development assistance (ODA) has fallen by 2.7% since 2017. However, ODA remains a crucial pillar of development finance, particularly in the Sahel and West Africa. In 2017, the 17 Sahel and West African countries received a total of USD 13.9 billion in ODA, representing 9.5% of all ODA given. Read on

Some 150 West African bishops, archbishops and cardinals currently gathered for a week at the 3rd General Assembly of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso’s President Christian Roch Kaboré spoke at the opening ceremony on 13 May and called upon all citizens to stay united regardless of religion or ethnicity. “Terrorists have reorganised their operation methods, seeking first to create inter-communal conflict, and now an inter-religious conflict. Christians have been killed for practicing their religion by people who have no morals or ethics,” deplored the President Kaboré. Read on

Africa’s largest film festival, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), celebrated its 50th anniversary from 24 February-2 March. The 26th edition of the festival brought together nearly 100 000 film-lovers and screened 165 films from 16 African countries. The government deployed about 2 000 security forces to maximize security surveillance and protect the festival. Joël Karekezi, a Rwandan filmmaker, won the prestigious Golden Stallion of Yennenga for his “Mercy of the Jungle,” a film that denounces the absurdity of war. Read on

In this interview, published by Le Point Afrique, EU Special Representative for the Sahel Angel Losada analyses the unstable situation in the Sahel. Losada commended the political will of G5 Sahel countries in finding their own solutions to combat terrorism. He also spoke about the need for better international response co-ordination. Read on