Development Agenda

A Caribbean-based prime minister, a scientist, a group of indigenous women, and an entrepreneur were announced on Tuesday as this year’s winners of the United Nations’ Champions of the Earth awards. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the all-female Champions were chosen for their impact and leadership in advancing bold action on behalf of people and the planet. “These Champions of ...

Plastic pollution has become pervasive in agricultural soils, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the UN agriculture agency, posing a threat to food security, people’s health, and the environment. While plastic refuse littering beaches and oceans draws high-profile attention, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability: a call for action suggests that the ...

Ashanti Regional Youth Network, as part of its activities for the year, has held a dialogue among young people in the region and duty bearers on problems of education in the region.  The event was attended by the Ghana Education Service, the Association of TVET Institutions, the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, officers from their partners including the National Network ...

The United States is committing $45.5 million over the next five years to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in Ghana. U.S. Ambassador Stephanie S. Sullivan joined representatives of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to launch the project in Tamale today.  The U.S. Government, through USAID, will work together with the Government of Ghana (GOG) to enhance ...

Education Think Tank, Africa Education Watch, has urged the government to increase the basic education share of the country’s education sector expenditure by at least 50% particularly to deprived public basic schools. This comes as part of its recommendations of a research work it launched on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, themed ‘A Study into the extent of deprivation in basic ...

Niger hosted the third African Girls’ Summit, as there is an upsurge of the violation of the right of the girl child and it couldn’t have come at a better timing for the fight against child marriage. The girls, who came from the four corners of the continent, made a strong appeal to African leaders and the international community to guarantee their ...

Countries are being urged to strengthen their carbon-cutting targets by the end of 2022 in a draft agreement published at the COP26 Glasgow climate summit. The document says vulnerable nations must get more help to cope with the deadly impacts of global warming. It also says countries should submit long-term strategies for reaching net-zero by the end of next year. ...

Although policies and planning for climate change adaptation are increasing, financing and implementation lag behind, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a new report launched on Thursday.  The Adaptation Gap Report 2021: The Gathering Storm calls for ramping up funding and action to address the growing impacts of climate change.  “As the world looks to step up efforts to cut greenhouse ...

U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh visited Accra this week to discuss President Biden’s Build Back Better World initiative with stakeholders and to meet with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.  Singh’s visit to Ghana follows his participation in COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, where President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to addressing the climate crisis while mobilizing investment capital to ...

More than one million people in southern Madagascar are struggling to get enough to eat, due to what could become the first famine caused by climate change, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).  The region has been hit hard by successive years of severe drought, forcing families in rural communities to resort to desperate measures just to survive.  Madagascar, the fourth largest island in ...