The military coup of August 2020 upended Mali’s fragile liberal democratic order. The junta-led transitionary government defies international pressure to fasten the return of democratically-elected rulers and constitutional rule.

The Sahel and West Africa continue to face significant challenges in advancing towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. While much progress has been made in health and educational outcomes for women and girls in the region, much more has yet to be done.

Levels of gender inequality in the Sahel and West Africa are among the highest in the world. Multiple interconnected crises - security, health and food – exacerbate gender inequalities and heighten risks for women and girls. In this context, gender is an important transversal theme across the SWAC’s programme of work.

Photo: Boubacar Soumaré/Flickr

Presented at the 2022 Munich Security Conference, this new report examines the role of border regions in shaping patterns of violence since the end of the 1990s in North and West Africa.

Africa's cities benefit from higher socio-economic outcomes and standards of living than the countries in which they are located. Urbanisation is an opportunity for Africa, and governments should maximise its benefits by investing in cities of all sizes.

In partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Sahel and West Africa Club launched the 2022 edition of Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics: The Economic Power of Africa’s Cities.