Ruth Mtuwa, a young engineer, drone pilot, and entrepreneur from Malawi, who is encouraging young people, particularly girls, in leveraging STEM education to develop products and solutions "Made in Africa" to boost development. Ruth’s company seeks to produce actionable intelligence and collaborate with innovators to move beyond data and build customized solutions to challenges affecting people’s lives.
In today’s interconnected world, shots fired in one corner of the globe create ripple effects in other, seemingly far, places. One year since the 24 February Russian invasion of Ukraine, African countries, although physically miles away, have not been spared its aftershocks. As the world reflects on the various shocks created by the year-long conflict, Africans must grapple with the short-term inadvertent threats to their economies, food systems, and well-being.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted structural inequalities in the global economy while exposing vulnerabilities on the African continent, including pervasive illicit financial flows (IFFs) depriving countries of resources that could go toward financing their development. To end this financial haemorrhage, a global framework against IFFs must be established.
African countries are facing challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A lack of financial resources is contributing to their struggles, compounded by inadequate spending patterns depriving the continent of the resources it needs for its development. Countries across the continent need to rein in wasteful public spending and focus on boosting activities to tackle a tepid COVID-19 recovery to put the SDGs back on track.
Africa needs to boost education in Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM) to develop its human capital and accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. While African countries have been boosting access to STEM education, challenges remain, undermining these initiatives across the continent.
New York, 29 November 2022 – The UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) released its latest report, “Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19: The Primacy of Domestic Resources Mobilization in Africa” at a special event chaired by Ambassador Pedro Comissário Afonso, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Mozambique to the UN and Chair of the African Group in New York.?
Weak institutions, especially revenue collection and customs authorities, are a challenge in Africa, which loses billions in potential tax revenue. Addressing governance issues and improving transparency in the use of public resources is vital to building trust and generating increased domestic resources. Technological improvements and digitization could be leveraged to support.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of effective intellectual property (IP) systems for sustainable development in Africa. Despite various efforts made by African countries over the years to develop effective IP ecosystems, most countries still face a number of challenges which undermine the effectiveness of IP in promoting various aspects of socioeconomic development, including public health, agriculture and industrialization.
This November, Egypt will host UNFCCC’s global climate talks, the 27th Conference of Parties (COP 27), at Sharm El Sheik where participants will work towards mitigating the looming climate crisis. The planet’s future remains at risk. Yet globally, many countries keep the status quo in terms of energy consumption. Many Africans are considering COP 27 as “Africa’s COP” and Africa’s voice needs to be pragmatic, as outlined.
The Transforming Education Summit was held in New York from 16 to 19 September to tackle a global education crisis impacting the lives of children and young people around the world, not least in Africa. The Summit paved the way for an unprecedented investment in education, with government representatives and youth leaders from Africa answering the call to join.
