A landmark six-year programme to build a climate-resilient and low-emission dairy sector is now underway across East Africa. The Dairy Interventions for Mitigation and Adaptation (DaIMA) programme, led by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with US$150 million in co-financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), represents a total investment of US$358 million.

 The project that was presented at the recently concluded 9th International Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture (GGAA) conference in Nairobi will directly benefit 2.5 million rural people in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda and indirectly reach an additional 15.4 million individuals along the dairy value chain.

The dairy sector is central to food security and livelihoods in East Africa but faces mounting pressure from climate change, including heat stress and drought. The productivity and efficiency of East African Dairy systems can be strengthened which will reduce emissions and ensure more resilience of the production systems.  This will be done through equipping smallholder farmers with climate information, improved breeding and veterinary services, better reproduction and feed management and innovative technologies to enhance productivity while cutting emissions.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has voiced serious concerns over the escalating political and security developments in the Republic of Madagascar. The situation, characterized by unrest within the military ranks and widespread popular demonstrations in the capital, Antananarivo, has raised alarms across the continent.

In a statement, the Chairperson welcomed the Malagasy Government’s renewed commitment to dialogue as a pathway to resolving the crisis peacefully. He underscored the urgent need for all stakeholders, including both civilian authorities and military personnel, to exercise calm and restraint. Emphasizing the importance of peaceful and consensual solutions, he called for full respect of the fundamental rights and freedoms of every citizen amid the turmoil.

Reaffirming the principles embedded in key African governance frameworks—the Lomé Declaration of 2000 and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance—the Chairperson urged Malagasy parties to act with responsibility and patriotism. Preservation of national unity, stability, and peace must be paramount, achieved in full compliance with the country’s Constitution and institutional structures.

Ethiopia launched the third round of its integrated polio vaccination campaign on October 10, 2025, aiming to immunize more than 8.5 million children across 22 zones in seven regions. This large-scale effort employs both the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) and the bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) to bolster immunity among children and combat the persistent threat of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2).

The campaign, which follows a similar integrated effort in February 2025, reflects a determined push toward eradicating polio in the Horn of Africa. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the initiative is synchronised with broader regional strategies involving neighboring countries, recognizing the cross-border nature of poliovirus transmission and the need for coordinated response across the region. Earlier in 2025, more than 600,000 children were vaccinated, and nationwide coverage in previous rounds has often surpassed official targets.

The expanded approach aligns with the updated strategy of the WHO African Region, which now recommends three to five rounds of immunization in countries confronting polio outbreaks. The campaign integrates vital child health services to maximize impact and reach, with a focus on reaching zero-dose and under-vaccinated children in high-risk communities.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah on Monday joined global leaders on the World Bank Group’s High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs, championing Africa’s demographic dividend and the drive for youth employment. 

Invited by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, Dr Ould Tah participated in the Council’s meeting held on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. The Council brings together heads of international financial institutions, ministers, and business executives to create jobs through impactful investments. 

As he marks the halfway point of his first 100 days in office, Dr Ould Tah’s participation underscores the African Development Bank’s strong commitment to putting jobs, youth, and opportunity at the centre of Africa’s transformation agenda. 

“Africa’s youth are not a burden to manage; they are the engine of our continent’s future,” Dr Ould Tah said. “We need to invest in the right skills, formalise the informal economy, and back MSMEs at scale.”