In West Africa, Sahel and Mano River countries have lower income inequality than their coastal neighbours, indicating growing social and economic disparities between emerging economies (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria) and less rapidly transforming rural economies. Moreover, many West African countries are faced with a north-south divide. Ghana’s north is much less developed than its rapidly urbanising coastal areas. Read on

Following the 25th anniversary celebration ceremony on 10 January, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) organised a second major event on 7-8 October in Ouagadougou to commemorate 25 years of integration among its eight member countries. Bringing together some 300 political leaders, intellectuals and civil society representatives, the scientific forum’s theme was “25 Years of UEMOA: Addressing together the challenges related to the free movement of people and goods within a secure community.” Read on

African leaders have reached an important milestone in creating a united African market with the launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 7 July 2019 in Niamey, Niger. The 54-nation trade bloc will unite 1.3 billion people and create a USD 3.4 trillion economic bloc. It is the largest trade bloc to be created since the the World Trade Organization was founded in 1995. It is set to become the biggest integrated market worldwide uniting some 2.5 billion people by 2050. Read on

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