The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
This report provides results of the analysis of the Sierra Leone mini-grid tariff cost buildup and practical recommendations for interventions to reduce end-user tariffs and improve the affordability of mini-grid electrification in rural areas. Tariff reduction will be achieved through enhanced efficiencies and reduced barriers along the value chain, spanning …
This Market Assessment and Roadmap for Health Facilities in Sierra Leone found that 38 percent of health facilities in the country lack access to power. Those that have access to solar PV, community mini-grids, diesel generators, or the main grid also suffer from either insufficient power or unreliable power. As …
This Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools in Sierra Leone found that 45 percent of senior secondary schools and 85 percent of primary schools lack access to power. Given the large number of schools in the country, this means that close to 10,000 schools require a robust power solution (either …
The case study comes from Kenya, where the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) started the Livelihoods Insurance from Elephants (LIFE) project with funding provided by the UK government's Darwin Initiative. The project started to explore the potential for insurance in mitigating negative impacts from human-wildlife conflicts. At the …
The number of pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women suffering from acute malnutrition has soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million – or 25 per cent – since 2020 in 12 countries hardest hit by the global food and nutrition crisis, according to this new report by the UNICEF. …
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the most water-stressed region in the world. According to 2018 data, 14 of the 17 most water-stressed countries globally were in the region, including the top six. However, the overall level of water stress of a country does not provide a …
More than half of the world's population will be overweight or obese by 2035 without significant action, according to this World Obesity Atlas 2023 published by the World Obesity Federation. Global study predicts that more than half the global population will be living with overweight and obesity within 12 years …
“Women, Business and the Law 2023” is the ninth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, …
This paper incorporates climate variables, including rainfall conditions and patterns, into an impact assessment of the Value Chain Development Project in the Maputo and Limpopo Corridors (PROSUL) in Mozambique. It focuses on activities targeting improved pasture management, supplemental feed sources and livestock value chain development. Results show weather and climate …
The costs of disasters and the negative impacts of climate change are rising globally. Record numbers of extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, are already costing the world billions of dollars each year. Other threats, including pandemics, geophysical hazards and cyber risks, are adding to this bill. This issue …
Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) is an established, sound and robust system for reviewing maternal deaths and establishing nationwide enquiries into deaths during pregnancy labour and puerperium. MPDSR is a system that measures and tracks all maternal and perinatal deaths in real time, helps to understand the …
With economic growth reaching 3.7 percent in 2022, Mozambique’s economy is gaining momentum amid a challenging global context. Agriculture and services saw a good performance, owing to higher agricultural productivity and the full resumption of mobility. Increased external demand and prices for Mozambique’s key export commodities, notably coal and aluminum …
Energy demand for space cooling has increased more than twice as fast as the overall energy demand in buildings over the last decade. Higher temperatures caused by climate change, coupled with increasing incomes and growing populations, are driving rapid growth in residential air conditioning (AC) ownership. Yet, of the 3.5 …
This report contains a comparative analysis of five African cities in terms of their air pollution problem, as well as their attempts to manage and improve air quality. Also included is an analysis of the impact of counter measures to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in those cities, …
In the debate on climate change and the potential of carbon farming, two aspects are stressed. First, the importance of reaching net‐zero CO2 emissions globally by 2050. Second, the need to transform food systems to address persistently high levels of food insecurity in some global regions, including Africa. Carbon farming …
The UN SDGs highlight the importance of energy indicators in achieving sustainable development. The supply side of energy in Tanzania has received a significant boost and there are optimistic targets to suggest further improvements in this area. However, past experiences have shown that the problems of financial constraints and the …
This brief highlights the importance of climate diplomacy in Indian foreign policy, and the country’s role in the North-South politics of climate negotiations as a leading member of the Global South that includes Africa. It focuses on two India-led multistakeholder global partnership organisations—i.e., the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the …
The Blue Economy is one of the emerging strong pillars of socioeconomic and ecological development and growth across the world. It is one of the few resource-base whose exploitation can be conducted sustainably, and also whose ecological protection can generate economic value. In 2020, the United Nations Economic Commission for …
The Comoros Country Environmental Analysis 2023 aims to identify the main opportunities for the Comoros to better manage its natural capital, achieve its potential sustainably, capitalize on climate co-benefits stemming from the process, and advance the development agenda. This is the first CEA for Comoros and, as such, it constitutes …
The overall maternal mortality rate dropped by 34.3 per cent over a 20-year period -- from 339 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 223 maternal deaths in 2020, according to this report by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies. Every day in 2020, approximately 800 …
