Browsing: AU

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role in Africa’s socio-economic and political development.
• Currently, tech giant Google is funding the deployment of AI in Africa.
• Google is exploring how AI can address poverty, hunger, and disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) has resolved that education systems provide the basis for building a strong foundation for Africa’s future, with the powblack friday wig sale custom sublimated hockey jerseys durex intense vibrations ring custom nfl football jerseys custom nfl football jerseys johnny manziel jersey deuce vaughn jersey brock purdy jersey custom maple leafs jersey custom youth hockey jerseys brock purdy jersey fsu football jersey nike air max 90 futura brock bowers jersey blundstone uomo er of Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking center stage.

The resolution was reached at the 44th Ordinary Session held in Addis Ababa from Valentine’s Day through to February 15, 2024.

This meeting …

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is now widely touted as the African Union’s (AU) most audacious project. The framework ties together the most significant number of member countries of any trade agreement since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995.

The AfCFTA had become topical even before its formal launch. Members of the business community eagerly awaited the full implementation of the AfCFTA. But two years since its formal launch, how far has the AfCFTA ushered in the ‘new era’ of African integration it promised?…

• The Maputo Protocol was adopted by the African Union (AU) in July 2003.
• Already, 44 out of 55 Member States have ratified or acceded to it. Another eight countries have signed but were yet to accede to it as of June 2023.
• While progress has been made in a number of goals, some challenges loom large.

To mark the 20^th Anniversary of the Maputo Protocol and to promote the continued adoption and implementation of its progressive provisions, the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR), Equality Now and Make Every Woman Count has released the 20 Years of the Maputo Protocol: Where are we now?

The report is a summary of the progress made in Africa towards the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the protocol. It highlights key achievements and challenges.

The Maputo Protocol holds immense importance as a legal instrument for the promotion and protection of women’s rights …

• Ongoing wars in Africa are bleeding billions from poor economies as investors flee the region.
• Sudan army is spending about $1.5 million per day fighting the Rapid Support Forces.
• IMF says Ethiopia’s GDP contracted from 9 percent in 2019 to 6.1 percent in 2020 as Tigray war intensified.

Wars in Africa are costing an arm and a leg, and throwing an awful wrench on poor economies that are hardly providing the bare minimum to their citizens. Take for instance the latest ongoing war in Sudan. Sudan Tribune notes that it is costing roughly $1.5 million every day for the Sudanese army to fight the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

For Sudan, a country whose poverty rate rose from 64.6 percent in 2021 to 66.1 percent last year, $1.5 million is a huge sum of money to be wasted on senseless fighting.

Wars in Africa yielding economic crisis

Sudan is one of …

• The DRC is viewed as a most promising member of the regional bloc offering a market of over 96 million people.
• DRC is also rich in many coveted minerals such as cobalt and Nickel, gold, and diamonds, which has caused a long-standing conflict.
• The EAC peace forces in the DRC were sent in early last year to restore peace and stability in the region.

The East Africa Community (EAC) has been touted as a model for regional economic blocs in Africa but the tension between Rwanda and the bloc’s newest member, DRC, is threatening to derail the region’s social and economic integration.   

The two neighboring countries have had a dicey relationship in the recent past with the largest country of the EAC, the DRC, accusing the smallest country in the region, Rwanda, of supporting rebels within its borders.

The DRC is viewed as a most promising member of the regional …

• The move makes Tanzania among the first seven African countries to start making the best of the single African market.
• Tanzania plans to export no less than 10 different products under the AfCFTA deal starting with coffee and marble.
• The AfCFTA Secretary General is confident that the deal will result in higher paying jobs and also sees the deal favouring women who are expected to get the larger portion of wage gains.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is at the centre of discussion again as African Heads of State and Government meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for two days to iron out the complexities of the Africa-wide trade zone.

The focus of the summit is on the intra-Africa trade going by the theme; The Year of AfCFTA: ‘Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation.’

At the 36th ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, President Samia Suluhu …

• Region economic communities such as East African Community (EAC) are opening doors for citizens to expand their hands across various economic opportunities.
• The movement of people over space and time is the bloodline of the modern world’s economies.
• South Africa, Africa’s highest ranked passport, was position 54 globally with South Africans having visa-free access to 106 nations.

A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report revealed that an American passport holder can access 43 percent of the global GDP without a visa while a United Arab Emirates (UAE) passport gives access to 70 percent of the global GDP.

In contrast, the Nigerian (top African economy) passport holder can access 20 percent of the world, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the global GDP. The measure of access is a wake-up call on assessing strategies and measures regarding the movement of people over space and time in Africa.

Since the launch of the …

A balanced meal, three times a day, a basic need few in Africa can afford. A three-course meal, a luxury most of the rest of the world enjoys, on a regular basis.

Did you know, Africa has a 50 year plan of what the continent will become half a century from now? It’s called Agenda 2063. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union

To achieve this vision, the AU Assembly recognizes that its true power is in its people, the 1.4 plus billion people. The AU central focus on this Africa Day is how best to utilize its top resource. The AU admits that for the continent to achieve its Vision 2063 then it must focus on it’s people; “…the potential of its populations, in particular, a human capital well-nourished citizens and in good health with a particular emphasis on women, adolescents and children.”

“Human …

Africans and African diaspora across the world commemorated Africa Day on May 25, 2022.

The day truly serves to integrate the diverse continent into one identity. This year bears extra importance as it is also the 20th anniversary of the African Union (AU). The theme for this year was “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent”.

Yet, the celebration was tarnished by rising food prices as a result of Covid-19, climate-induced drought in parts of Africa, and the Ukraine crisis, according to Hindustan Times.

According to an article by Hindustan Times published on June 17, 2022, Africa Day is to commemorate May 25, 1963, when 30 independent African leaders signed the founding charter of the OAU (Organization of African Unity). Later to give more impetus to the organisation, many new areas were added and it was transformed into African Union (AU).

Yearly, the AU decides a …

The Africa-Europe D4D Hub Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development in Africa was held one month after the 6th European Union–African Union Summit, where leaders from both continents announced a EUR 150 billion Africa-Europe Investment Package, which amongst other priorities aims to accelerate Africa’s sustainable digital transformation.

“This ambition aligns with the EU Global Gateway, a strategy set out to boost smart, clean, and secure investments in connectivity, and the AU Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020 – 2030, which aims to transform Africa’s economies and societies by harnessing digital technologies, the potential of data and innovation for the benefit of people. It also supports the outcomes of the 35th AU Summit, held from 5 to 6 February 2022, which called for the acceleration of Africa’s quality infrastructure development.” read a news release issued by EU-Africa Digital Hub today.

It is reported that only 33 per cent of …