Welcome to the Development Diaries weekly roundup of top stories for Sunday, 13 November, 2022.
During the week, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) commenced in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with Africa renewing its climate change calls; ECOWAS provided critical education support; Nigerians expressed concerns over the planned resumption of train operations on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line; rights groups condemned the sentencing of two TikTok users over alleged defamation of a governor in Nigeria; the World Bank moved to accelerate electrification in Africa; and UNICEF warned of humanitarian crisis in Congo among other top stories.
COP27: Africa Reiterates Climate Change Commitment
African nations came to a common resolve to tackle climate change relentlessly by mobilising internal and external resources. The resolve was made on the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. Read more
ECOWAS Launches Education Support Programme
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) launched an education support programme for its members that have emergencies. The commission, which provided a grant of U.S.$200,000 for the facilitation of the programme, launched the project through its Department of Human Development and Social Affairs (DHDSA). Read more
Concerns as Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line Set to Resume
The Nigerian government confirmed that train operations on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line were set to resume in November. This was confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, while giving the scorecard of his ministry. Read more
Nigeria Provides Twitter Monitoring Update
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said that the government was monitoring Twitter closely under the new ownership of Elon Musk. Mohammed, who said this at a news conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital, however said there was no intention of banning activities on the platform again. Read more
Mozambique: WFP Seeks Additional Funding
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that it will be forced to suspend its life-saving assistance to one million people at the peak of the hunger season in Mozambique if additional funding is not received urgently. Read more
AI Reacts to Sentencing of Kano TikTok Users
Amnesty International (AI) during the week condemned the sentencing of two TikTok users over alleged defamation of the Governor of Kano State, northwest Nigeria, Abdullahi Ganduje. The TikTok users, Mubarak Muhammad, alias Unique Pikin, and Nazifi Muhammad, were remanded in October for allegedly defaming the character of the governor in one of their skits. Read more
World Bank to Accelerate African Electrification
The World Bank announced an innovative initiative to accelerate African electrification to achieve universal access by 2030. According to the bank, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other development agencies will promote private investment in Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) systems to electrify targeted areas quickly and efficiently. Read more
Kenya: CARE Reports School Dropouts, Makes Call
The Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) reported that the worsening drought in Kenya was driving the rise in the number of out-of-school children. Read more
Mali: World Bank Provides New Food Aid
The World Bank approved a U.S.$30 million credit to Mali to enable the country to improve agricultural productivity and strengthen the resilience of rural households. The International Development Association, it is understood, will provide the funds under the Mali Agricultural Productivity and Diversification Development Project in Semi-Arid Zones (PDAZAM). Read more
Congo: UNICEF Warns of Humanitarian Crisis
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the lives of thousands of children in overcrowded, unsanitary camps for Internally Displaced Persons in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were seriously at risk. Read more
That is the roundup of some stories that made headlines last week. More newspaper headlines are available on Development Diaries.
Photo source: CIFOR
